The Auburn men’s swimming & diving team has signed Olympian Santiago Grassi to their program in Alabama, and he’ll be joining the team in January. Grassi, a two-time Argentinean national record holder, is a big land for a Brett Hawke program that doesn’t have a large incoming class next year. He was a silver medalist at the 2015 Pan American Games, blasting a 52.09 to touch 2nd behind only American Giles Smith. More recently, he swam at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. There, he placed 24th in the 100 fly with a time of 52.56.
In a tweet (at the bottom of the page), Grassi announced his decision to sign with Auburn. As translated from Spanish: “I still cannot believe it! A new challenge for me that starts in 2017! Thank you for having me on your team!”
Top Times
- 50m fly – 23.90 (20.90 SCY converted)
- 100m fly – 52.09 (45.66 SCY converted)
Grassi won’t be the first South American to join Auburn‘s program. Brazilians Cesar Cielo, Marcelo Chierighini, and recent grad Arthur Mendes are some of the top South Americans to have studied at Auburn. His butterfly speed will be of immediate value to the Tigers, especially in light of Mendes (their top flyer last season) running out of eligibility. Grassi would’ve easily A-finaled at the 2016 SEC Championships in the 100 fly with his converted SCY best, and he would’ve tied for 8th in prelims at NCAAs in that same event.
Grassi will join up with the program in January, which is just a few weeks away, and will give Auburn a serious butterfly boost for the remainder of the season. He’ll get a year and a half of overlap with Guatemalan Luis Martinez, Auburn‘s top butterflier this season. Grassi’s signing comes with the verbal commitments of Machine Aquatics’ Christian Ginieczi and NCAP’s Spencer Rowe to the Tigers’ class of 2021, though it’s unclear just how much eligibility Grassi will have at Auburn.
Todavia no puedo creerlo! Un nuevo desafío para mi que empieza en el 2017!! Gracias por recibirme en su equipo!! @AuburnSwimDive pic.twitter.com/pjPbQij4II
— Santi Grassi (@Saantigrassi) December 6, 2016
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Nice!
Nice AU pickup at mid-year!