Women's Recruiting - #6 Virginia

When discussing this year’s recruiting class, Head Coach Mark Bernardino explained that, “No single recruiting class ever fills all the needs of any team, but rather brings its own identity and personality to the team.” Hmmmm. Looking at the list it seems that there’s little question this class more than fills the holes left through graduation. A single swimmer exceeding Megan Evo’s 24 points from last year’s NCAA Championships might be a steep goal. At worst, the sum of this class’ parts will. At best, they propel Virginia towards the top eight for years to come.

As far as the personality that Bernardino speaks of, consider the ebullient Meredith Cavalier, a woman destined for UVA. “I grew up hearing my uncle arguing with my mom for not naming me Virginia,” the incoming freshman explains, adding, “His first choice was ‘The’ for my first and ‘Virginia’ for my middle names.”

Swimming under UVA grad Pete Morgan at Curl-Burke, Meredith got a heavy dose of fever, but it was the trip that cinched it. “I do not think I really understood the UVA community until my recruiting trip,” upon which she “fell in love with the atmosphere and the team.” Still, with two brothers attending and a couple of parents graduates of West Virginia, she kept her decision to herself until decision day. “Now my mom really does wish she had named me Virginia!”

Cuteness aside, this is a class that should move the Cavs forward. Although Rebecca Jones escaped to Auburn, the Cavaliers landed equally-talented Lauren Perdue from Greenville, North Carolina. Paired with Cavalier, Mark Bernardino and crew have a pair of sprinters as solid as anyone in the land, but they also got a bonus when Kelly Flynn became available in the University of Washington sweepstakes.

Christine Olson developed into one of the nation’s top breaststrokers under Dave Gibson at Brophy East. Now she’ll have the opportunity to challenge for a medley relay spot while also contributing in both IM’s.

As good as the top four are, the coaching staff won’t let them take it for granted. “They are each expected to compete on a daily basis with their teammates in an effort to bring out the very best in each of them and no individual accomplishment is more important than the team accomplishments.”

If not, the class is also peppered up-and-comers. Anna Dobben, a tall, athletic sprinter from the Chicagoland area has lots of untapped potential. While she might not rival Perdue, Flynn and Cavalier out of the gate, she, like many of Bill Magnussen’s protégés should only get faster in college.

Another is Casey Ridge of Cincinnati. She’s the lone distance recruit for Virginia, but she’s one that Bernardino is high on. “We wanted to have someone waiting in the wings, somebody learning, somebody preparing, and somebody racing these ladies on a daily basis; so that within a years time, Casey will be ready to assume a very major role on the team.” Margaret Hutchinson of Sudbury, Massachusetts and Anais Menguy from Rockville, Maryland round out the class. While they aren’t at the front line yet, Bernardino hopes they will be some of the best on the team in their respective events. “Mostly we need to see this group integrate with the current team members and work toward helping the team continue to get better.”

Perdue, Lauren	81.27	5	Greenville, NC	Greenville Swim Club
Olson, Christine	77.73	15	Gilbert, AZ	Brophy East
Flynn, Kelly	74.66	25	The Woodlands, TX	Transfer: Washington
Cavalier, Meredith	68.82	54	Stafford, VA	Curl-Burke
Dobben, Anna	64.46	91	Flossmoor, IL
Menguy, Anais	58.78	163	Rockville, MD	Rockville Montgomery Swim Club
Ridge, Casey	58.2	172	Cincinnati, OH	M.E. Lyons/Anderson Barracudas
Hutchinson, Margaret	49.23	306	Sudbury, MA

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