Men's Recruiting: #6 - Tennessee

Most of the news surrounding Tennessee recruiting has to do with Lane Kiffin. While the Vols’ football coach has been grabbing headlines, UT’s John Trembley and Joe Hendee were grabbing the fastest recruit in the country. That’s far more newsworthy in our book – wait, you mean UT signed the TWO fastest recruits in the country? It’s true. Giles Smith and Herbie Behm are the the two fastest 50 freestylers not originating from Limestone College this year and they are a big help as JT tries to replace the 90+ NCAA points scored by this year’s senior class.

Neither had any of the big four programs high on their list. Smith opted for UT over Washington, Indiana, Penn State and Missouri while Behm spurned Virginia Tech, Auburn, Michigan, and Ohio State to conduct Volunteer work. Some might take that to mean neither is the real deal, but John Trembley is an excellent evaluator of talent and both swimmers both are on a trajectory similar to that of Jimmy Feigen at Texas.

As if those two weren’t enough, UT added Great Britain’s Ed Walsh. Walsh is the UK’s Junior National 50 free champion. They’ll be joined by Fred Castro and Paschall Davis. Both are exceptional sprinters and will find themselves duking it out for relay spots.

Behm, for one, is excited about those relays. “I can't wait to swim relays with Giles Smith and Ed Walsh. Our freshman class can put together a relay that can compete against any team in the country.” The Vols did more than go after sprinters though. Seth Wensel is an excellent middleman and Sam Peterson, Ryan Harrison and in-stater Mike Zaczyk can go the distance . Peterson is in the top-ten of incoming milers

This group, along with a European diver who Dave Parrington expects to make the big final will be able to enjoy the new Alan Jones Aquatic Center. "Our new facility had some impact in recruiting," head coach John Trembley said, "As did the success of this team thus far in the 2008-09 season. We are all pretty excited about the future of Tennessee swimming and diving, particularly for these newest Volunteers."

16	72.48	Smith, Giles	Baltimore, MD	Eagle Swim Team
34	69.79	Harrison, Ryan	Derry
44	67.56	Behm, Herbie	Tucson, AZ
69	64.94	Wensel, Seth	Christiansburg, VA	Virginia Gators
141	58.39	Castro, Fred
143	58.23	Walsh, Ed	London, UK
175	56.13	Petersen, Sam	Short Hills, NJ	Berkeley Aquatic Club
179	55.85	Davis, Paschall	Nashville, TN	Nashville Aquatic Club
200	54.67	Zaczyk, Mike	Knoxville, TN	Pilot Aquatic Club-Knoxville