In his first season as Head Coach at the University of Indianapolis Jason Hite has made it clear he plans to bring the Greyhounds to the top of Division II. The question now is: “how quickly can he make it happen?” Hite seems to have the pedal to the floor and is on a fast track. He is not waiting until next season to make the most of the commitments he has landed this fall. Four powerful commits to his men’s squad will begin competing next semester and may immediately make an impact at the national level.
Rodrigo Codo Berti swims for Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in Brazil. He is a World Juniors qualifier, and has attended South America Championships twice and Multinations three times. Rodrigo would have scored solidly last year in the A-final of at least four events in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and is coming in with times that are already near the A-cut and conversions that would have scored points at Division II Nationals based on 2015 results. He may be a major player at the national level for UINDY.
Rodrigo’s best times:
26.80 (LCM) – 50 back
53.84 (SCM) 55.84 (LCM) – 100 back
1:59.20 (SCM) 2:02.05 (LCM) – 200 back
2:00.50 (SCM) 2:04.78 (LCM) – 200 IM
54.85 (SCM) 55.09 (LCM) – 100 fly
Marijn van Zundert is a junior at Indiana University who has been released to transfer. He is originally from Oud Gastel, Netherlands, but has been training in the U.S. for three years. Last year his times for the breaststroke event would have topped the GLVC meet, and should have a chance to score at D2 Nationals based on 2015 results.
Marijn’s best times:
54.78 (SCY) 1:03.48 (LCM) – 100 breast
2:01.23 (SCY) 2:19.24 (LCM) – 200 breast
Christopher Gurski is a German Championships qualifier for SG Moenchengladbach under Head Coach Mark Jayasundara. He has returned for finals at the German Youth Championships in the 50, 100, 200 and 400 freestyles, with a high finish of 6th for the 100 meter. He will be joining Marius Bornkessel, a current German from his region already on the UINDY roster. Christopher’s mother was a national level swimmer in her youth, and his younger brother is a 200 fly specialist at his home club. Gurki plans to major in International Business. He is in position to score well in the GLVC for all freestyle events. His converted 100 free would have landed him in the A-final and he will most likely contribute to relays as well.
Christopher’s best times:
23.62 (SCM)
51.13 (SCM) 52.65 (LCM) – 100 free
1:53.7 (SCM) 1:56.7 (LCM) – 200 free
4:05.2 (SCM) 4:08.2 (LCM) – 400 free
Kyri Papa-Adams of Thanet Swim Club swam at the European Games in 2015, and at the UK school games in 2013 where he took gold in the 400 IM. He has qualified for British Nationals for the last 5 years and earned Bronze at the Balkan Games in 2014.
Kyri told SwimSwam: “I chose Uindy because after searching around and talking to a couple of my friends already at Uindy, Uindy seemed like an amazing opportunity, after hearing about how good coach Hite is and how good his training is it was pretty clear to me it was a great suit for me, also after looking at the City of Indianapolis, and learning about what a diverse and impressive city it is I got more and more excited. I try to give 100% to everything I do.”
Kyri will most likely score in multiple events to help the Greyhounds in the GLVC and has an outside shot of squeaking into a scoring position at Nationals as well based on converted times.
Kyri’s best times:
1.53.29(SCM) – 200 free
4.00.82(SCM) – 400 Free
2.05.46(SCM) – 2.09.86 (LCM) – 200 IM
4.29.75(SCM) – 4.36.41 (LCM) – 400 IM
If it’s allowed in the rules then fair game. Maybe some individuals have had those spots before, but when putting we over me, and team scoring and team placement, then you put together the fastest team possible. Just like in real life, if you don’t like it, take responsibility and work harder. Take the finger and point it at yourself, not at others.
Nothing is ever given, just earned (and if you’re not fast enough for those spots, still accepting and embracing your role on a team).
I was on a college team that did this. Cool to get in fast guys, but tough for the kids that have been on relays and set to score at conference, then get bumped by these foreign imports at semester, especially when they’re typically older as they are in D2.