Emily Waite Commits to UNCW With Times That Would Have Led Team Last Season

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A sprint freestyler who earned a bronze medal at the 2020 Florida High School 4A State Championships, Emily Waite has announced that she will be joining the University of North Carolina, Wilmington to swim under Bobby Guntoro in the fall of 2022. Waite is from Lithia, Florida where she swims for Tampa Bay Aquatics and Newsome High School.

So excited to announce my commitment to swim and study at the University of North Carolina Wilmington!! I want to thank all my coaches and teammates for pushing me everyday, and my family and friends as well. I wouldn’t be here without you all! Super pumped for next year! GO SEAHAWKS💙💚🦅🦅

In both 2020 and 2021, Waite was a two-event finalist at the FHSAA 4A State Championships, swimming the 50 and 100 free both years. Her best performances came in 2020, when she took 5th in the 50 free and 3rd in the 100 free at the state meet. In the 100, she dipped below 51.0 for the first time, stopping the clock in 50.91. Her 5th place finish in the 50 came in a time of 23.57, which was her lifetime best performance at the time.

Her best times in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles all come from a meet last March, the Florida Senior Championships-South. At that meet, she took first in the 50 free (23.52) and 100 free (50.64), as well as adding a 4th place finish in the 200 free (1:49.53).

Top SCY Times

• 50 free – 23.52
• 100 free – 50.64
• 200 free – 1:49.53

UNCW is currently undergoing a surge of recruiting as Guntoro is halfway through his second season at the helm of the program. At the 2021 Colonial Athletic Association Championships, the women’s team took 5th out of six teams. The team was led by Evan Arsenault, a senior at the time who has since graduated.

Waite is a huge pickup for the Seahawks, with lifetime bests that would have been among the team’s best last season. During the 2020-21 school year, UNCW didn’t have a single swimmer finish under 1:50.0 in the 200 free and had only two swimmers faster than her lifetime best in the 50 and 100. Waite’s best times would have made her an A-finalist in both the 100 and 200 at the 2021 CAA Conference Championships.

So far this season, the top times in the sprint freestyle events are held by juniors who will still be on the team when Waite arrives on campus next fall. In the 50, Sarah Olson holds the fastest time, having dipped below 24.0 at the CAA Pod meet to finish in 23.95. Andrea Niebel leads the team in both the 100 and 200, having finished in 52.25 and 1:53.54 at the same meet.