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Utah Swimming and Diving Signs 10 New Student-Athletes
4/27/2006 12:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
April 27, 2006
SALT LAKE CITY - University of Utah swimming and diving head coach Michael Litzinger has announced the addition of 10 new student-athletes to help the teams to continue to compete on the conference and national stages.
Litzinger has announced the signing of Bryan Edmunds, Will Farr, Marco Ferraro, Beth Gunderson, Melissa Helmers, Kathryn Maasberg, Kelly McIntyre, Vitali Pushkar-Verbitsky, Karly Roberts, and Annie Van Leeuwen.
Among the newcomers are seven freestyle swimmers, three butterfly and individual medley swimmers, two breastroke swimmers and one backstroke swimmer.
The newcomers join the Utes after one of their most successful seasons. The women's squad is fresh from their Mountain West Conference regular season and Championship titles while the men's team looks to reclaim their regular season title after finishing fourth in the 2005-06 season.
Below is a thumbnail sketch of each newcomer:
Bryan Edmunds
Event: Free
Hometown/High School: North Ogden, Utah/Weber HS
Major: Engineering
Parents: Randy and Leslie Edmunds
Utah 5A Champion in the 100 freestyle ... school record-holder in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, and 100 fly ... Utah State High School Region 1 record-holder 100 free.
Litzinger on Edmunds: Bryan is going to add something special to our sprint group at Utah. He has great enthusiasm and is a team person.
Will Farr
Event: Breast
Hometown/High School: Austin, Texas/Westlake HS
Major: Meteorology
Parents: Bill and Amy Farr
Helped lead Westlake to an undefeated season and national runner up in the Swimming World National High School Championship ...member of the nation's fastest high school 200 medley and 200 free relays ... Texas state high school finalist in the 100 breast and 200 free.
Litzinger on Farr: Will comes to Utah with the potential to make a difference in our breaststroke and contribute heavily in the relay events. His best swimming is certainly ahead of him.
Marco Ferraro
Event: Free/Fly
Hometown/Last School: Frenkendorf, Switzerland/Ouachita Baptist Univ. (Ark,)
Major: Undecided
Transfer from Ouchita Baptist University ... NCAA Division II All-American in the 200 free, 500 free, 800 and 400 free relays ... Swiss National Team Member.
Best Times: 200 Free 1:39.26 100 Fly :50.26
Litzinger on Ferraro: Marco is a great addition to the Utah men's team. He brings in big-meet experience and has already made the adjustment to college-level competition.
Beth Gunderson
Event: Backstroke/IM
Hometown/High School: Portland, Ore./Central Catholic HS
Major: Undecided
Parents: Dave and Marianne Gunderson
2005 Mt. Hood Conference Female Athlete of the Year ... 2005 US National Qualifier ... 2005 Speedo Sectional Finalist 100/200 Backstroke ... 2005 Summer US Junior Nationals 12th place 200 Backstroke ... brother Ryan is the starting QB for Oregon State University ... attended same high school as former Utah basketball standout and current NBA player Michael Doleac.
Best Times: 100 Back :58.23 200 Back 2:04.07 100 Fly :58.88
Litzinger on Gunderson: Beth is an outstanding individual, and a great athlete. I am truly looking forward to working with her, as she will help Utah continue its climb to excellence in the conference and NCAA.
Melissa Helmers
Event(s): Distance Free/IM Hometown/Last School: Pennington, N.J./Indian River CC Major: Communications
Parents: Robert and Ida Helmers
2005 National Junior College runner-up in the 1650 free ... 2005 National Junior College champion in the 400 & 800 freestyle relays ... helped the IRCC Pioneers to their 27th NJCAA Swimming Title in 2005 ... three-time US National Qualifier in 400 and 800 freestyle relays ... 2002 & 2003 New Jersey state high school runner-up 500 freestyle.
Best Times: 500 Free 5:02.05 1000 Free 10:25.15 1650 Free 17:20.12
Litzinger on Helmers: I am pleased that Missy has signed with Utah. She will bring championship-level experience to our team, and continue a great tradition of distance swimming for the Utes.
Kathryn Maasberg
Event: Free
Hometown/High School: Salt Lake City/Skyline HS
Major: Biology
Parent: Bill and Tina Maasberg
Helped lead Skyline to four consecutive Utah state championships ... perennial finalist in the 500 Freestyle ... 2005 High School Academic All-American ... academic all-state and National Honor Society member.
Litzinger on Maasberg: Katie is another swimmer with untapped potential. She has a willingness to be coachable, and will thrive in our distance program.
Kelly McIntyre
Event: Butterfly
Hometown/Last School: Park City, Utah/Indian River CC
Major: Communications
Parents: Bob and Laurie McIntyre
2005 National Junior College champion in 200 butterfly ... 2005 National Junior College champion in the 100 Backstroke ... helped the IRCC Pioneers to their 27th NJCAA Swimming Title in 2005.
Best Times: 100 Fly :59.60 200 Fly 2:09.27 100 Breast 1:08.10
Litzinger on McIntyre:
Kelly is really coming into her own as a college-level butterflier. I am excited about her potential to help us, and of course her championship experience is invaluable. Kelly will be a great Utah Ute.
Vitali Pushkar-Verbitsky
Event: Free/Fly
Hometown/High School: Haifa, Israel/Hof-Hasharon Shfaim
Major: Economics
Parents: Oleg and Svetlana Verbitsky
Member Israeli National Team ... Israeli record-holder in 50 free, 100 free, and 50 fly ... member European championship team.
Litzinger on Pushkar-Verbitsky: Vitali is great athlete with tremendous underwater skills. His sprint ability will make him a contender in the MWC and help keep Utah in the hunt for a title.
Karly Roberts
Event: Free/IM
Hometown/High School: Nepean, Ontario, Canada/McCrae HS
Major: Undecided
Parents: Alex and Christine Roberts
Canadian National Finalist 400 IM, 800 Free... Nepean Kanata Barracuda record-holder in 800 and 1500 free ... Canadian Provincial record-holder as part of 4 x 100 medley relay ... qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games Trials
Best Times: 400 IM 5:02.27 LCM 800 Free 9:26.59
Litzinger on Robert: Karly is a special person and athlete. She will give us a presence in the 400 IM and continue a great tradition of distance swimming at Utah.
Annie Van Leeuwen
Event: Free/Breast
Hometown/High School: West Valley City, Utah/Cyprus HS
Major: Undecided
Parents: Joseph and Julie VanLeeuwen
Utah state high School champion in the 200 Free in 200 ... state runner up in the 100 and 200 free in 2006 ... is a top-10 student at Cyprus, owning a 3.8 GPA.
Best Times: 100 Free :53.79 200 Free 1:56.49 100 Breast 1:09.10
Litzinger on Van Leeuwen: Having Annie sign at Utah is exciting for us. Her whole family cheers for the Utes. She has tremendous potential, and a great feel for the water. She will jump right into our sprint line up.
-UU-
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