Rebecca Millard from JSerra High School and Irvine Novaquatics in California has verbally committed to Texas. Millard is currently taking a gap year before committing, so she’s actually a member of the class of 2013.
Millard is a very good sprint freestyler, with yards bests of 23.30 and 50.17, both of which were done as a senior last year. She’s also been 1:51.70 in the 200 yard free. She also split 49.97 in the 100 free on the 2013 JSerra relay that broke the National High School Record in May with a 3:21.20.
“I decided to become a longhorn because of the phenomenal coaching staff, close team, great academics, athletic support, and the overall atmosphere of the school,” Millard said. “It was honestly the whole package! I knew after walking on the campus for just a few short hours that it was the place where I could become the best version of myself! Can’t wait to be a part of the program next year! HOOK EM!”
And so Carol Capitani continues to load up on a class deep with freestylers, which they’ll need in order to replace a very good senior class of freestyler after this season that includes Sam Tucker, Alex Hooper, Sarah Denninghoff, and Ellen Lobb. Looking at their 2012-2013 roster, out of the 10 best flat-start 100 yard freestylers, only one (Gretchen Jacques, who will be a senior) returns next fall.
If Millard continues on her present path, she should be an immediately relay contributor for the Longhorns (and, of course, conference scorer in the thin Big 12). She knocked a second-and-a-half, for example, off of her best time in her senior year of high school. With a huge drop at the end of her senior year, the decision to take a gap year and reenter the recruiting pool this fall seems to have been a good one, giving the improvements she made at the end of her senior year.
“I decided to do a gap year because I knew there were more options out there and a lot more doors had opened up to me,” Millard said. “It was a risk, but it is definitely worth it looking back now.”
She’s spending the year working a little bit, and taking a few classes, but says she’s mostly focused on swimming and getting ready for college.
She swam at JSerra for Mary McLaughlin, and at Novaquatics trains under Adam Crossen.
Rebecca Millard, right, with former Texas teammate Brynne Wong. (Photo: Rebecca Millard)