And this, my friends, is why we call them “verbal commitments” until the swimmer signs their name on that dotted line. Hali Flickinger, the #12 recruit in the class of 2012, has decided instead to head to the University of Georgia rather than Texas, as previously reported.
While she seemed a good fit for the Longhorns, her middle-distance prowess will fit in very well at Georgia as well. She’s the YMCA Nationals Record Holder in the 400 IM, with a best of 4:09.30 that already puts her firmly into B-final range, and she’ll likely improve that standing to A-finalist by the time she swims her first NCAA Championship meet in 2013.
Her butterfly skills will be a huge boon for this Georgia program. They didn’t even enter a single swimmer in either butterfly event at NCAA’s last year, but Flickinger’s 1:56.70 would’ve scored her top-12 points last year. As a freshman, she could end up with one of the more grueling event-schedules possible by adding in the 500 free as her day-one event, with a best time of 4:44.19.
Flickinger also took recruiting trips to Auburn, Indiana, and Florida.
To InTheKnow, I am Hali’s best friend and you are correct; that is the true story.
Good luck at UGA Hali! I love you!!
Coach Brook’s swimmers are well prepared for D1, all you have to do is come watch one practice!
I see Brackin is back to her old games again……..when will she ever learn? She has underperformed for how many years? Will she save the UT girls for the Texas A and M meet again??
almost every kid has to make this tough decision, whether they be an athlete, a musician, or just a regular student….part of the process, part of growing up..life will go on no matter what their choice.
Some of these kids are 16 & 17 and trying to make these decisions. Watching my daughter right now is hard. Trying to help when asked and let her make the choice is difficult as an adult, much less as a teenager.
Hey they have to get used to pressure if they want to swim D1. They could chose not to got thru the process if too overwhelming…
Regardless of what the true story is, I think this illustrates the amount of pressure these 18-yr-olds face in the recruiting process. How many times do we see kids relieved rather than excited when they commit?
Best of luck to Hali!
I have heard other things about the UGA team pressuring her to decommit. Which, in my opinion, is not the right thing to do once someone has already committed to a school. Congratulations to Hali as I’m sure she will do great at Georgia, but I wonder why she would commit to UT if she clearly wasn’t ready to make her final decision. Sort of embarrassing for her if you ask me. As for the UT swimmers being “sensitive”… I think you would be “sensitive” too if Braden had posted private information, which could very well be a rumor, about your team on the internet.