Yale Gets Verbal Commitment from British Back/Free Specialist Bella Hindley

Isabella Hindley, who swims for Coach Bram Montgomery at Chelsea and Westminster Swimming Club in London, has verbally committed to Yale University’s class of 2019.*

Hindley told SwimSwam, “I decided to study and swim in America as opposed to in England as I think that the universities in America do really well combining athletics and academics. I’ll be able to fulfill both my academic and athletic dreams, and to me that was the main factor in my decision. I also love how you can explore a wide range of subjects, in England you have to commit to one subject area right from the start. Seeing as I am not exactly sure what I want to study, I think this suits me perfectly. One of the other deciding factors was the school spirit I felt when I visited schools in the US. I love how students carry a strong sense of pride for their school and that is something that I cannot wait to be a part of!”

Hindley finished second in the girls 17/18 50m free final at British Long Course Nationals last August, posting a 25.81. She was third in the 100m free (56.45), fifth in the 100 back (1:03.63). Her best 100m and 200m back times, 1:02.8 and 2:15.8, date from the summer of 2012.

Hindley’s coach, Bram Montgomery, swam and coached in the US with Tim Murphy and Matt Kredich prior to moving to the UK. In an email exchange with SwimSwam, Mongtomery assessed Hindley’s ability to adjust to short-course collegiate swimming as follows:

“I think Bella will transition really well into the college training environment and short course swimming as from a young age Bella understood and embraced the importance of good starts and turns and has great underwaters especially off the blocks. She’s just short of six feet tall and has yet to start lifting so her potential is really, really high. All her current SCM best times have been done without any taper or shave so I think she has a legitimate shot to make an impact at a national level her freshman year.”

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*DISCLAIMER: Hindley has not yet been officially accepted to Yale. As is true with all Ivy League schools, Yale’s Admissions Office will not send its acceptance letter until the beginning of December, along with those of all Early Action candidates. The procedure for a recruited athlete like Hindley is for Admissions to review her transcript and SAT scores, “support (her) application for admissions in the fall,” issue a Likely Letter, then offer her acceptance into the class of 2019.