Tristan Sanders
Tristan Sanders is a backstroke specialist at the University of Michigan. Originally from Oldsmar, Fla. Sanders graduated from Palm Harbor University after transferring from East Lake High School as a sophomore. Due to the school transfer, Sanders was forced to sit out of his sophomore season, and was ultimately left with two years of high school eligibility. Although he only had three years of high school swimming, Sanders still managed to win two Florida state championships in the 100 backstroke, and earn an overall team state championship. Sanders is only a freshman at Michigan, but he has already earned NCAA Honorable Mention All-America honors in the 200 backstroke. According to collegeswimming.com Sanders was the 77th-ranked recruit in the class of 2014, and the no. eight recruit out of the state of Florida. When committing to Michigan, Sanders felt the team had a unity and direction, as well as the perfect balance between athletics and academics. Even though he made an immediate impact by earning honors in the 200 backstroke, Sanders is also a strong IM swimmer and a sprint freestyler – his third event ended up to be the 200 IM. He was the third recruit in the class of 2014 to commit to Michigan.
Michigan
2014-2015
Sanders is currently in his freshman season at the University of Michigan. He earned his first NCAA honors when he picked up a ninth-place finish in the 200 backstroke, winning the ‘B’ heat. At the NCAA Championships he also finished 30th in the 100 backstroke. Competing at the Big Ten Championships, Sanders swam the backstroke events as well as the 200 IM, where he finished in the top eight in all three events. Sanders also swam at the AT&T Winter Nationals, picking up a fifth-place finish in the 200 backstroke.
National Competition
Although he sat out for one season in high school Sanders had top finishes in the 100 backstroke and sprint freestyle. Competing for Palm Harbor YMCA in club swimming he seems to have been an excellent short-course swimmer – he won both the 100 and 200 backstroke at the 2013 Speedo Winter Junior National Championships and the following year he won the 200 backstroke at the NCSA Junior Nationals.
