West Chester University's nationally ranked men's and women's swimming & diving teams announced its early signees, who inked their names on a National Letter of Intent to join the Golden Rams' program.
Head coach Jamie Rudisill, who is in the midst of his 24th season on deck at West Chester University, has brought in 12 swimmers during the early-signing period. The Golden Rams will complete their recruiting class in April when the rest of the class can sign.
“A strong and deep class of women, four breaststrokers and four mid-distance to distance freestylers, will leave West Chester's women's team stocked in those areas for several years,” Rudisill mentioned. “We'll look to add some sprinters in the spring.”
On the men's side, Rudisill added just half as many swimmers, but feels that this group is very talented and will help in the relay events for years to come.
“All four early signings will add much needed depth to our sprint freestyle group,” Rudisill explained. “This group should continue to improve and develop into mainstays on our sprint free relays. We will look to round out this group in the spring with some breaststroke and distance free depth.”
The women's recruiting class consists of three local products, two of which call West Chester home, while the men's side includes one local swimmer. Henderson High School swimmer Codyanne Murtaugh and Unionville High standout Kendall Somer are included in that group, along with Great Valley swimmer Lauren Keenan. Alexander Bauer from Pottstown and Owen J. Roberts High School will join the men's team next fall.
West Chester's women's team is coming off a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division II championships in 2010 and is off to another quick start this fall. The men's squad was a ninth-place finisher at nationals a year ago and has been very impressive so far this fall as well. Both teams are off until January when the Golden Rams travel to Juno, Fla., for a week of training and a relay meet with Maine and Johns Hopkins.
The National Letter-of-Intent program was started in 1964. Administered by the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA), the program was designed with prospective student-athletes in mind. A signed letter-of-intent indicates a prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the designated college or university for one academic year. Institutions agree to provide athletics financial aid for one academic year to the student-athlete, provided the student-athlete is admitted to the institution and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules.
West Chester University Men's Swimming NLI Signees
Alexander Bauer (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts)
William Corbett (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown)
Alexander Muraro (Allentown, Pa./Emmaus)
Jake Oeschger (Oreland, Pa./Springfield)
West Chester University Women's Swimming NLI Signees
Kimberly Brownrigg (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley)
Lauren Carastro (Vineland, N.J./Vineland)
Daneille Dougherty (Sicklerville, N.J./Gloucester Catholic)
Lauren Keenan (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley)
Laura Morrison (Absecon, N.J./Holy Spirit)
Codyanne Murtaugh (West Chester, Pa./Henderson)
Kendall Somer (West Chester, Pa./Unionville)
Alexis Walley (Allentown, Pa./Parkland)