Hannah Burns will go from the Gator Swim Club to the Florida Gators next season, as she’s staying close to home with a verbal commitment to Gregg Troy’s squad.
Burns is an all-around solid swimmer of just the type that Troy has done so well with in the last decade at the University of Florida. She’s a top-tier recruit as a mid-to-distance freestyler, 200 butterflier, breaststroker, and IM’er. Her weakest stroke is backstroke, and given the backstroke training group that Florida has and the program’s proven success with backstrokers, that shouldn’t be much of a concern either.
Burns’ best yards times:
- 200 free – 1:48.47
- 500 free – 4:48.99
- 1650 free – 16:29.10
- 200 back – 2:03.15
- 100 breast – 1:04.12
- 200 breast – 2:12.80
- 200 fly – 1:59.89
- 200 IM – 2:00.37
- 400 IM – 4:11.32
Burns should develop into a breaststroker/IM’er in college. Given her skill set and the team’s history, the IM’s seem to be a no-brainer, and beyond that the program’s biggest long-term need is in the breaststrokes as well. While Burns is much better so far in the 200 than the 100, a 1:04.12 in the shorter breaststroke is already good enough to be relevant on the Gators’ depth chart.
Burns swims scholastically for Columbia High School. She is the defending Florida 3A (second-biggest schools) state champion in the 200 IM and was runner-up last year in the 500 free. She will be favored to win both races in 2014.
