The Wolverine women have picked up 7 more signings in the spring class, in addition to one notable transfer.
The transfer is Kelsey Cummings from the University of North Carolina, who transfers after two seasons in Chapel Hill.
“It was an extremely tough decision but I chose Michigan because it’s a great school with a dedicated team and coaching staff,” Cummings said of her decision.
She’s a mid-to-distance freestyler and IM’er who scored 12 points for North Carolina at last year’s ACC Championships, placing 16th in the 500 and 8th in the mile. She also just missed out on scoring in the 400 IM, winning the C-Final in that race.
Her freestyle bests range from 1:48.75 in the 200, to 4:44.8 in the 500, to 16:20.02 in the mile. The latter of those times were both done at North Carolina, as does her best 4:23.28 in the 400 IM.
She’s an equally-good long course swimmer, with a best of 4:15.0 in the 400 free (though from before coming to North Carolina). Michigan’s men’s program has become the best in the country looking across the 200 to the 1650, and with the programs now unified under one coaching staff, Cummings will be a good test of if they can build the same for the women.
She should be an immediate scorer in the Big Ten, and will also likely step right on to their 800 free relay.
Briana Jurries from Phoenix, Arizona (Arizona Gold/Valley Christian HS) is the defending Arizona State champion in the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke; in the latter of those events, she pulled off a four-year career sweep of the event.
In yards, her best breaststroke times are a 1:02.81 in the 100 and 2:14.04 in the 200 breaststrokes, plus a 2:02.3 in the 200 IM.
Jurries is a very versatile swimmer. Though she swam mostly breaststroke in high school, she’s also been 54.4/2:01.4 in the 100 and 200 yard butterflies, plus 51.3 and 1:51.1 in the 100 and 200 yard freestyles.
She could immediately step in as the club’s best butterflier, and long-term could be a good understudy for senior-to-be Angie Chokran in the breaststrokes.
They’ve also picked up Celia Keany from the great Lake Oswego HS and Tualatin Hills Swim Club in Oregon. She’s a middle-distance specialist who’s been 1:51.4 in the 200 free and 5;)4.1 in the 500. Madeleine Eden from the Edina Swim Club in Minnesota; she’s another very versatile swimmer, as she ranges from 1:03 in the 100 breast to 56.9 in the 100 fly and 2:03.5 in the 200 yard IM. She’ll likely follow a similar path to Jurries.
Rounding out the class domestically is Mary Kate Leary from SwimAtlanta. She’s another very versatile recruit with a 4:59 best in the 500 free and 2:00.48 in the 200 yard back. The Wolverine women have a very deep and young women’s backstroke group that Leary should slide well into.
Added to that group is a pair of internationals: Claudia Goswell from Sydney, Australia and Fiona Ma from Hong Kong.
Goswell’s been a 26.80/57.5/2:05.5 in the 50-through-100 long course freestyles.
Ma comes from the same program as current Wolverine Claudia Lau; full times are hard to come by, but she’s a breaststroker who we know has been 1:13 in the long course 100.
They’ve also added another diver: Zaenab Hage from Quebec, Canada.
What is the Michigan women’s recruiting class ranked?