Morgan Perrotti from Palm Harbor, Florida has verbally committed to the Rutgers Scarlet, bringing a butterfly threat to New Brunswick, New Jersey.
“There are three reasons why I fell in love with Rutgers,” Perrotti said. “The first reason would be the cohesiveness of the girls on the team and how they always are encouraging one another. Secondly, the great reputation Rutgers has for their academics and lastly, but not least, the awesome coaching staff. Head Coach, Phil Spiniello and Assistant Coach, Tracy Menzel, both have made me feel special and and let me know that I would be an asset to the Lady Knights as they enter their second year of the Big Ten.”
Perrotti’s yards bests include 56.83 in the 100 fly and 2:04.67 in the 200 fly. She’s also a very good long course swimmer, having been 1:05.2 and 2:20.6 in meters.
Butterfliers represent Rutgers’ biggest need in this fall’s recruiting class, though they also need to bring in more freestylers to beef up their relays as they begin their history in the Big Ten this season. Rutgers graduated all of their legitimate Big Ten caliber 100 butterfliers at the end of last season, and though they brought in freshman Karli Rymer this season to help shore that up, they still needed to find her both depth and a training partner.
Perrotti has had an up-and down three years of high school so far, but she is a four-time conference champion in the 100 fly (including 8th grade) and a three-year Florida High School State Finalist. As a junior, specifically, she made big progress in her 100 freestyle, dropping a second-and-a-half from her lifetime best.
Rutgers is in New Brunswick/Piscataway, not East Brunswick.