Hannah Burdge, a senior at Martin County High School in Stuart, Florida, has verbally committed to swim for Florida Gulf Coast University.
“FGCU’s swim and dive program is outstanding, and I believe they offer just what it’s going to take for me to really excel and reach my full potential,” Hannah said of why she chose the Eagles. “I love the coaches, and the girls really made me feel at home on my recruit trip. I can’t wait to be a part of such an amazing family!”
Hannah currently resides just across the state from her future school, where she swims for Indian River Aquatics in Ft. Pierce.
Her best SCY times include:
50 Freestyle – 24.62
100 Freestyle – 51.80
200 Freestyle – 1:53.64
100 Butterfly – 58.27
200 IM – 2:09.39
Hannah, who specializes in freestyle, is joining a college program that is renowned for its strong freestyle sprint group. She will be training with a few teammates who have sub-23 50 freestyles, including sophomore Kira Toussaint and the FGCU school record holder, senior Emma Svensson.
While Hannah will likely not be the school’s top freestyler right away, she is joining a stellar training group that will propel her to success. Already this year, she has achieved best times in the 50 yard freestyle, 100 yard butterfly, and 100 meter freestyle. With the guidance of FGCU head coach Neal Studd, Hannah will likely continue to improve her freestyle times and claim valuable relay spots for the Eagles early in her career. In addition, Hannah has already heard great things about her future coach, Studd: Hannah’s club coach, Adam Epstein, swam for Studd when both were at Florida Atlantic.
With her college choice finalized, Hannah is now gearing up to compete in the 3A Florida High School Swimming Championships this Saturday, November 8th. Hannah has been a great asset to the Martin County High School Swimming & Diving team over the years, rounding out her swimming contribution by participating in a few diving events as well. This year, she is one of the team’s captains; recently, she led her team to a thrilling win at Regionals, the first in school history. Riding on the momentum of this accomplishment, Hannah and her team are ready and excited for some impressive swims at the State Championship meet next weekend.