Courtesy: Cal Athletics
BERKELEY, Calif. – Cal women’s swimming & diving coach Teri McKeever announced Friday the signing of a nine-swimmer recruiting class that includes five of the nation’s top 25 high school seniors.
The new Golden Bears hail from six states spanning from Florida to California and bring talent in a wide range of strokes and distances.
“I’m really excited about this class because of the amount of energy they’re going to bring,” McKeever said. “It’s a group that can swim a lot of different things, from sprints to distances, which is I think is going to benefit the versatility of our program as a whole and individually for their careers. The fact that we have signed swimmers from across the country I feel speaks to the success of our program and the reputation of our institution. These are women who are looking for world-class academics and world-class athletics.”
Leading the class is Isabel Ivey from Gainesville, Fla., who is considered the No. 1 recruit in the country by SwimSwam.com. Others to earn a top ranking include No. 12 recruit Chloe Clark of Granite Bay, Calif., and No. 20 Ayla Spitz of Newport Beach, Calif., as well as Sarah DiMeco from Sammamish, Wash., and Rachel Klinker from Lexington, Ky., who both received honorable mention notice from SwimSwam.com for being just outside its list of top-20 recruits.
Rounding out the group are Danielle Carter (Los Altos, Calif.), Emma Davidson (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Ashlyn Fiorilli (McKinney, Texas) and Anna Kalandadze (Ardmore, Pa.).
Ivey is a member of the U.S. Junior National Team in three events – the 100 and 200 freestyle and the 200 butterfly. The two-time Florida Swimmer of the Year has won state titles in four different events, and her personal best of 1:43.54 in the 200-yard free would have qualified for the A final at last year’s NCAA Championships. Clark is a two-time California state champion, having won the 200 individual medley as a sophomore and 100 backstroke as a junior, while Spitz holds five records at her high school and is a three-time Scholastic All-American. DiMeco (Washington) and Klinker (Kentucky) have both won 200 and 500 free titles in their home states.
Carter owns Los Altos High School marks in the 100 back and 200 IM; Davidson is an All-American and Scholastic All-American with six school records to her credit; Fiorilli is a member of the U.S. Junior National Team in the 200 fly and competed at the FINA World Junior Championships in 2017 in the event; and Kalandadze is a three-time Pennsylvania state champion in the 500 free who has also swum the 10K at Open Water Nationals.
Capsules on 2018-19 Cal Recruiting Class:
Danielle Carter – Los Altos, Calif. / Los Altos HS
Set school records in the 100 back and 200 IM … named team MVP and earned the Coaches Honor Award in 2018 … has traveled internationally to three World Cup events – Hong Kong (2016), Amsterdam (2017) and Budapest (2018) … owns best times of 53.31 in the 100 back, 1:55.40 in the 200 back and 53.95 in the 100 fly … has overcome two knee dislocations … in addition to swimming, also enjoys surfing … swims for Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics.
Chloe Clark – Granite Bay, Calif. / Granite Bay HS
Ranked the No. 12 recruit in the country by SwimSwam.com, Clark is a two-time state champion, having won the 100 back as a junior and 200 IM as a sophomore … owns best times of 53.21 in the 100 back and 1:57.32 in the 200 IM … a three-time Scholastic All-American … named her high school team’s Rookie of the Year as a freshman and picked up most valuable honors as a sophomore and junior … helped Granite Bay HS extend its streak of league championships to 22 years in a row … owns school records in the 50 and 100 free, 100 back and 200 IM … also the CIF Sac-Joaquin record holder in the 100 back and 200 IM … a six-time league champion and five-time section champ … swims for the Sierra Marlins Swim Team … a 15-time All-American award recipient.
Emma Davidson – Yorba Linda, Calif. / Yorba Linda HS
An All-American and Scholastic All-American … a three-time team MVP and team captain … holds six school records .,. top times include 23.27 in the 50 free and 50.90 in the 100 free … recipient of the Yorba Linda HS Academic Mustang Achievement Award and a member of the principal’s honor roll for having a GPA over 4.0 … member of the National Honors Society and the California Scholarship Federation … named second-team all-league in volleyball before concentrating full-time on swimming beginning in January 2017 … has traveled to 24 countries.
Sarah DiMeco – Sammamish, Wash. / Skyline HS
A multi-time All-American and Scholastic All-American … a four-time All-State King County selection … helped her high school team to a pair of state titles … an honorable mention recruit by SwimSwam.com (just outside the top 20) … the 2016 state champion in the 200 free and a two-time winner in the 500 free … best times include 1:48.35 in the 200 free, 4:44.26 in the 500 free and 16:19.78 in the 1650 free … swims for the Issaquah Swim Team and was named Swimmer of the Year for 2017-18 … mother, Helen, swam at Washington.
Ashlyn Fiorilli – McKinney, Texas / Spring Creek Academy
Member of the 2018-19 U.S. National Junior Team in the 200 fly … a three-time high school All-American … represented Team USA at the 2017 FINA World Junior Championships in Indianapolis, placing 12th in the 200m fly … top times including 4:49.92 in the 500 free, 16:23.48 in the 1650 free, 1:57.23 in the 200 fly and 4:15.41 in the 400 IM … swims for Texas Ford Aquatics, a silver-medal ranked club team from 2014-17.
Isabel Ivey – Gainesville, Fla. / Buchholtz HS
Considered the No. 1 recruit in the country by SwimSwam.com and is a member of the U.S. Junior National team in three events – 100 and 200 free and 100 fly … also on the Junior National Team in 2017-18 … owns best times of 22.43 in the 50 free, 47.88 in the 100 free, 1:43.64 in the 200 free 1:00.99 in the 100 breast (Florida high school record) and 52.61 in the 100 fly … at 2017 Winter Nationals, finished second in the 200 free and 200 IM, as well as third in the 100 back and eight in the 100 free … a two-time Florida state Swimmer of the Year … has won state titles in the 50 free, 200 free, 100 breast and 200 IM … helped Buchholtz HS to the 2017 Florida Class 4A title … competed at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in both 2016 and 2018 … swims for the Windermere Lakers Club.
Anna Kalandadze – Ardmore, Pa. / Lower Merion HS
A three-time state champion in the 500 free … also the district record-holder in the 500 free … a top-30 finisher at Open Water Nationals in the 10K in 2016 and a top-6 finisher at Junior Nationals in the 1650 free (2017) … top times include 1:50.42 in the 200 free, 4:46.25 in the 500 free and 16:24.31 in the 1650 free … owns high school records in the 100, 200 and 500 free, the 100 fly and the 200 IM … swims for Radnor Aquatic Club … a life guard and swimming instructor … enjoys scuba diving and photography … has traveled to five continents.
Rachel Klinker – Lexington, Ky. / Tates Creek HS
An honorable mention recruit by SwimSwam.com (just outside the top 20) … captured state titles in the 200 free (1:46.05) and 500 free (4:49.77) in 2018 … a three-time regional champion in both events … owns school records in the 100, 200 and 500 free … a three-time team MVP … freshman, sophomore and junior class president and all-school president as a senior … won the 200 fly at the Irish Open Championships in 2018 … swims for the Lexington Dolphins.
Ayla Spitz – Newport Beach, Calif. / Newport Harbor HS
Considered the No. 20 recruit in the country by SwimSwam.com … a three-time Scholastic All-American … holds high school records in the 50 free (23.00), 100 free (48.88), 200 free (1:45.44), 100 back (54.16) and 100 breast (1:04.61) … swims for Irvine Novaquatics and helped the club team to first placed at 2017 Winter Junior Nationals and 2018 Summer Junior Nationals … owns 17-18 Novaquatics age-group records in eight events … president of the Math Club … has a twin, Zoe.