Virginia If judged as a whole – men and women – no staff made a bigger impact on their team’s future success than the group out of Virginia. No individual can take credit for such large and talented classes, but the groundwork for a good class begins a couple of years before signing date or about the same time Chip Kline came on board.

Of course a good recruiting class takes a big step forward when one of the top freestylers is released from his commitment to the defending national champion. That was the case with Matt McLean (Sterling, VA). He, along with Taylor Smith (Saratoga, CA) give Virginia the best middle-distance combo in this year’s senior class. Ian Vogt (Richmond, VA) and Tim Hayes (Coopersburg, PA) give the Cavaliers a similar 1-2 punch in the fly and IM’s. Scot Robison (Charlotte, NC) and Zach Kohl (Mohnton, PA) are two of the twenty-best available American sprinters. Like the women, Virginia didn’t have to go far to land this class – all but Smith and Snawerdt are from surrounding states – so as the word gets out, they should be in contention for even more high-profile recruits.

 2494	McLean, Matt	Sterling, VA
 2494	Smith, Taylor	Saratoga, CA
 2480	Vogt, Ian	Richmond, VA
 2400	Hayes, Tim	Coopersburg, PA
 2400	Snawerdt, John	Indian Harbor Beach, FL
 2332	Robison, Scot	Charlotte, NC
 2000	Kohl, Zachary	Mohnton, PA