Melissa Marinheiro, a senior at West Broward High School, has verbally committed to swim for the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast University.
“I’m so excited,” Marinheiro said of her commitment. “I can’t wait for next fall!”
Marinheiro, who currently swims for the South Florida Aquatic Club in Pembroke Pines, Florida, specializes in the freestyle events.
Her current SCY bests include:
50 Freestyle – 24.82
100 Freestyle – 52.75
200 Freestyle – 1:50.71
500 Freestyle – 4.51.13
1000 Freestyle – 10:11.31
1650 Freestyle – 16:44.24
100 Backstroke – 59.07
200 Backstroke – 2:02.88
FGCU has had a great year of recruiting and has already picked up 10 commitments for the 2015-16 season. The Eagles had many successful swimming performances last year, with a total of 12 team records falling throughout the season. Even though she is joining such a strong team, Marinheiro still has the potential to make a splash in the middle distance and distance events for FGCU right away.
With her best time of 4:51.13, Marinheiro would have been fourth in the 500 Freestyle at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Championships behind her future teammate, redshirt junior Lani Cabrera, who took third in the event. Marinheiro is not far off the school’s top 500 Freestyle time: graduate Leah Daniel’s 4:48.22 set in 2011. Additionally, Marinheiro’s times would have placed her seventh in the 200 Freestyle (behind FGCU’s sophomore Kira Toussaint, Cabrera, and sophomore Sandra Wilk), and third in the 1650 Freestyle (behind FGCU’s Cabrera). With such potential to score at the conference meet, it is clear that Marinheiro is a strong addition to both FGCU’s middle distance freestyle group and team as a whole.