Indiana Adds Elite British Junior Sprinter Grace Vertigans from Plymouth Leander

Teenage sprinter Grace Vertigans from the on-fire Plymouth Leander club in the U.K. has committed to swim for Indiana University in the NCAA.

Vertigans also visited Auburn, Alabama, and Tennessee.

She’s a very good freestyler, butterflier, and backstroker, and could contribute to the Hoosiers’ efforts in any of those three strokes imeediately. Her long course bests are:

• 50 free – 25.45 (22.20 yards conversion)
• 100 free – 55.42 (48.48 yards conversion)
• 200 free – 2:00.52 (1:45.69 yards conversion)
• 50 back – 59.54
• 100 back – 1:03.53 (56.15 yards conversion)
• 50 fly – 27.56
• 100 fly – 1:01.12 (53.80 yards conversion)

While thus far in her career, she’s been better in long course than short course, even if those conversions come up short right-off-the-bat, she’s still going to be the no-brainer choice to anchor Indiana’s medley relays. They had Kait Flederbach on a one year holdover last season after transferring from Arizona, but now she’s moved on, and the Hoosiers are left with no returning swimmers who were better than 51.0 in the 100 free last season. In fact, their best returning 100 backstroker (Brooklynn Snodgrass – 51.05) was faster last season than the team’s best returning 100 freestyler (Cynthia Pammett – 51.09).

Snodgrass was 3rd at NCAA’s last year in the 100 back; Gia Dalesandro had a breakout freshman year and though she didn’t score at NCAA’s, she was the second-fastest swimmer in the Big Ten, and Vertigans should provide a very good anchor. The Hoosiers’ problem now on the medley relays will be the breaststroke leg, where their best returning swimmer is Claudia Dicapua, who was 1:03.86 as a freshman last year. If they can shore that up, this is a medley relay that could compete for an NCAA medley relay title.

Vertigans joins an Indiana class that includes Kennedy Goss, a Canadian backstroker/freestyler, and Marie Chamberlain, a YMCA National Champion backstroker/from Massachusetts.