Classes begin at Fresno State on Thursday, which means another crop of swimmers is arriving in Fresno ready to start their Bulldog careers.
“We have eight new swimmers coming in,” Fresno State head coach Jeanne Fleck said. “We are excited about the depth that the new group will give us.”
The group of eight coming in will give the ‘Dogs 16 swimmers and divers in their first or second year of Division I competition. The lack of experience will be made up for in the depth that the newcomers will provide.
Four newcomers were added in the spring signing period. That group consisted of Mathilde Huss-Hansen (Frederiksberg, Denmark), Hannah Jarvis (Auburn, Calif.), Brooke Rodriguez (Manassas, Va.) and Allison Short (Monterey, Calif.).
Fleck is very high on the Denmark native Huss-Hansen. She has competed in the Danish National Championships and in several European Championship events which should have her ready to go from the beginning.
“Matilda’s times are in the top 8 in the conference coming in so we are excited to bring her in and see what she can do.”
Jarvis comes to Fresno after becoming the school-record holder in the 50-meter Freestyle at Sierra Junior College. She was also apart of a school-record setting 200m Freestyle relay team. She has spent her time split between swimming and water polo in her career.
“She is a great sprinter,” Fleck said. “She will backup or be right there with Leah from the very beginning which will be great for us.”
The other half of the group signed on in the fall, Katelin Britton (Modesto, Calif.), Vanessa Dugan (Roseville, Calif.), Casey Kennemann (Santa Maria, Calif.) and Hannah Nabors (Clovis, Calif.).
“All the girls we signed early are very strong,” Fleck said. “They all had really good springs and good CIF’s which makes it really exciting to see what we have coming.”
Put the group together and Fleck and the rest of the coaching staff sees great things possible.
“It is probably one of the strongest, most solid groups we’ve had come in,” Fleck said. “With the kids that are going to be sophomores this season mixed with these newcomers, it’ll be a very young team. These young girls are getting stronger and stronger and will make it very exciting.”
The ‘Dogs come back to school and will have a little less than two months to get ready for their season opener, the Bulldog Invitational on October 10-11. Fresno State will host Air Force, San José State and Fresno Pacific at the Aquatics Center.
