Tampa, Florida’s Morgan Tankersley, our #4 recruit in the high school class of 2018, has made it official: she intends to swim for Stanford University in the fall. In an embarrassment of riches, the Cardinal now boasts 4 of the SwimSwam Top 10 and 6 of our Top 20. Verbal commits to the class of 2022 are: #2 Taylor Ruck, #3 Zoe Bartel, #4 Tankersley, #9 Allie Raab, #15 Amalie Fackenthal, #16 Lucie Nordmann, and Anya Goeders.
Tankersley swims for H.B. Plant High School and Greater Tampa Swimming Association, and is the top full-range freestyler in the class. She can compete with the best of them in the low and high ends of the range, but is at her best in the 200-500 freestyles where her current times would already score at NCAAs.
At 2016 FHSAA Class 4A Championship last November, Tankersley broke the Florida high school state records in the 200 free (1:44.31), 500 free (4:37.60), and 100 free (48.69) while leading off the Plant 400 free relay in prelims. In club swimming this spring and summer she swam the 1650/1500 free for the first time in years, and dropped 45 seconds in each. Perhaps this portends well for a Day Three event at NCAAS…
Best Times:
- 500 free – 4:37.60
- 200 free – 1:44.31
- 100 free – 48.69
- 50 free – 22.60
- 1650 free – 16:27.61
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
Are the Stanford “endowments” for ALL students that have parental income of $125k or less, or are they competitive funds awarded to applicants based on their academic achievement? I find it odd that 68% of the current Stanford squad is “Undeclared”. If the endowments are based on academic achievement, then something doesn’t add up.
Stanford swimming was not doing so well before Greg and Tracy arrived. They are obviously some of the best recruiters in the nation and have masterfully leveraged the assets Stanford has to their advantage.
Setting the question of scholarship slots vs. financial aid vs. endowments aside, can someone please explain to me how 7 of the top swimmers in the nation for their class just happens to be among the smartest in the country? Also 6 of the best HS swimmers in Stanford’s last class, and 5 in 2016.
We are talking about one of the toughest colleges in the US to get into academically. One that is said to have a 4.6% acceptance rate.
Not a comment on Tankersley’s academics BTW. Her grades are known to be exemplary. Stanford is lucky to get someone of her academic & swim stature over Cal & several other top programs!
This article was about Morgan Tankersly. Hope she has a long and successful swimming career, gets a great education and has fun.
Swimswam should do an article (or series of articles) on the state of the sport at all levels. Then everyone could voice their opinions without taking anything away from any athlete or school. It would probably be the most read series ever.
The acceptance rate of incoming freshman for Stanford is 4.6%, below Harvard,(5.4%), Yale (6.3%), Cal (17.5%) and far below everyone else. I hope everyone enjoys going to NCAA’s in March knowing today and for years to come, what team is going to win. How many people would go to the Superbowl, the Rose Bowl, the… Read more »
Stanford isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Almost any accredited institution can provided a motivated individual a GREAT education. Next time you go to the doctor look at where they graduated from. It’s probably somewhere obscure. The women’s swiimming stuff is all about using endowment $ to get around the scholarship limits. It was reported on swimswam that even the head coaches compensation is endowed. Elitetism and entitlement are two words that can describe this use of endowment money. How about Stanford stick to the scholarship limits and use their endowment dollars to really help those in need. As for the “rigorous academic standards”? I guarantee you the only academic standard that was used when Chelsea Clinton was admitted… Read more »
As I stated above the Stanford endowment money IS used to help all students, not just swimmers or athletes. Any person whose family falls in the middle-class or below gets free tuition using funds from endowed, need-based scholarships at Stanford. Frankly it would be nice if more universities were able to provide this.
I agree it really doesn’t matter where you go to school. If you’re motivated you can get a great education anywhere. Regarding Chelsea Clinton’s admission to Stanford, she was a straight-A student in high school and now has two masters degrees, a ph.d from oxford, and is a professor at Columbia Uniiversity. You can disagree with her and her family’s politics but there is no question she is incredibly bright.
Agree . Did those pesky Serbs realise they were shooting at a pre – Stanford Quaker educated A student as she bravely ran from a hail of sniper bullets? A grade I tell you .
Lets not forget that most of the Stanford recruits are Academic All Americans, as well as ranked as a top 20 swimmers. Stanford U, is one of the most highly ranked academic universities in the world, and therefore also a top choice for Academic All American students. The Stanford swim team had a team average GPA of I believe 3.65, so an academic all American might also find this a plus. So when you are parent and have to send your child to college, don’t you think you will select the college with the best academics Plus one of the best swim programs? Sorry, that there isn’t more swim competition in the PAC12 dual meets and the NCAA, but for… Read more »
Well yeah, of course. That’s not a debate, and the facts prove it. The debate comes when people come into the comments section and proclaim that Stanford is the ONLY top academic school and top swimming school. That’s just not true, and it makes no sense to argue that case.
Regarding the diversity comment, be careful not to judge a book by its cover. I am pleased that the team is of various ethnicities. One of the seven 2018 Stanford Women recruits is of mixed race(Black&White).
What % of each counts as mixed race these days?
As i have commented many times in the past ncaa d1 women’s swimming is not a competition it is an exhibition. The outcome of most events is not a question. The concentration of elite athletes at Stanford makes it difficult for other schools to recruit. The obvious use of endowment money to give athletes “academic aid” to get around scholarship limits is a joke. Why should other pac12 teams waste their time swimming the dual meets with Stanford. They should forfeit the meets and put the time to better use. I am sure USA swimming likes having their entire Olympic squad in one place. Lack of competition and a no win situation in women’s swimming will cause many schools to… Read more »