June 23, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Heading into the 2008-09 collegiate swimming season, North Carolina head coach Rich DeSelm has snared a pair of recruiting classes ranked nationally in the Top 10. Recruiting class rankings were released recently by CollegeSwimming.com. The men's class was ranked No. 8 nationally and the women No. 10. Both teams now have back-to-back Top 20 classes as the men's class in 2007 was ranked No. 4 and the women's No. 17.

"The women's class is deep and talented and will have an immediate impact on our conference and national competitiveness," says Tar Heel head mentor Rich DeSelm, entering his second year full-time at the helm of the Carolina program. DeSelm said in particular the Tar Heels have added depth in the sprints and the breaststroke.

Individual rankings among the women's class are Layne Brodie (#38) of Atlanta, Ga., Sarah Tanner (#62) of Loveland, Ohio, Laura Moriarty (#84) of Methuen, Mass., and Brooke Atkinson (#87) of Boca Raton, Fla. Other swimmers in the Top 160 are Katelyn Martin of Chelmsford, Mass., Marie Pesacreta of Chapel Hill, N.C., Katherine Keel of Knoxville, Tenn., Enuf Swanson of Conroe, Texas, Kerianne McAfee of Charlotte, N.C., and Candace Cooper of Raleigh, N.C.

CollegeSwimming.com ranks Keel and Brodie as the No. 5 and No. 6 breaststrokers in the incoming freshman class. The recruiting class includes five swimmers who have bettered 24 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, a total that equals the number of sub-24 sprinters UNC had on last year's team amongst all four classes combined. Martin is the nation's fifth fastest high school senior in the mile and Cooper is a Top 10 senior high school 200-yard backstroker.

Altogether the women's class includes 11 swimmers and another three divers. A transfer freestyler did not figure into the recruiting rankings.

The No. 8-ranked men's group includes 10 swimmers. This group will complement a returning group led by a trio of standout distance freestylers - Chip Peterson, Joe Kinderwater and Hank Browning - as well as talent and depth in other areas. "We are excited to announce a fantastic group of future University of North Carolina swimmers and divers," explains Coach DeSelm. "The men joining us will be an impact class for our program at the ACC and potentially NCAA level.

The Tar Heels signed two sprinters ranked among the Top 32 in the nation - Evan Reed of Berwyn, Pa. and Steve Cebertowicz of Glendale, Wis. Carolina went heavy on freestyle additions with No. 35 ranked Will Singley of Southlake, Texas, being joined by Victor Leclere, Sean Lane and Jesse Mendes.

Ranks include Reed (#20), Cebertowicz (#32), Singley (#35), Brad Hamilton (#125) of Kingston, Jamaica, Brock Park (#146) of Kensington, Md., Victor Leclere (#161) of Brookfield, Wis., Sean Lane (#228) of Garden City, N.Y., Jesse Mendes (#237) of Chapel Hill, N.C., and James Flannery (#266) of Bronxville, N.Y.

Two children of alumni - Sarah List for the women and Chuck Bartel for the men round out the recruiting classes. List is the daughter of Mark List, '78, and Bonny Brown '80, while Bartel is the son of Tom Bartel, '84.