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Rafael Fente-Damers, who lives in Spain but swims for Dauphins Annecy and the French National Junior Team, has verbally committed to swim and study at the University of Texas beginning in the 2025-26 season. He will overlap a year with his older sister, Sophie, who is in the Texas class of 2026 (although she does not swim anymore).
“I’m super excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of Texas in Austin! I want to thank my coaches in Alaska, Texas, France, England, and Spain and my family for helping me get here and to @coach_bowman for this incredible opportunity! Looking forward to being a Longhorn! Hook’em🤘🤘”
In his 18 years, Fente-Damers has already punched numerous pages in his swimming passport. Born in the United States to a French mother and a Spanish father, he had triple nationality from the get-go. He began swimming at age 5 in Anchorage, Alaska, where he was attached to Anchorage YMCA Swim Team. In 2015-17, he swam for Dads Club Swim Team in Houston. By the fall of 2017 he was attached to the French club, AVAN Villeneuve d’Ascq, near the northern city of Lille. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, he and his siblings swam in England for Cobham Cougars ASC and Elmbridge Phoenix SC.
In 2022, he attached to Dauphins d’Annecy and has been representing the club ever since. Currently, Fente-Damers trains at the SEK International Sports Academy, just outside of Madrid, Spain and represents France internationally. Last summer, he competed at the European Junior Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. He notched a PB in the 50 free (23.07), finishing 9th in prelims, and in the 100 free (49.72), where he won the bronze medal. He also earned silver medals with the French boys’ 4×100 free and 4×200 free relays, and bronze medals with the boys’ 4×100 medley and mixed 4×100 free relays.
At the Spanish Interclubs in December 2023, Fente-Damers broke the French national age group record for 17-year-old boys in the 100 free with his 47.77 lead-off on SEK’s 4×100 free relay.
Fente-Damers’ commitment marks an immediate shift in Texas culture under new head coach Bob Bowman. In the Eddie Reese era, the Longhorns very rarely recruited international swimmers – and when they did, it was almost always student-athletes like Joseph Schooling who were already in the United States for high school. From his earlies days at Arizona State, Bowman attracted international student-athletes who wanted to train under “Michael Phelps’ coach.” And since the explosion of Leon Marchand on the world stage, Bowman is at the top of the list for an ever-expanding number of international swimmers.
Fente-Damers will join Clem Camacho, Evan Conti, and John Simmons in the Longhorns’ class of 2029.
Best LCM times (converted):
- 50 free – 22.54 (19.58)
- 100 free – 48.86 (42.57)
- 200 free – 1:51.14 (1:37.24)
- 100 fly – 57.47 (50.51)
- 100 back – 56.73 (50.02)
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“They can’t stop comin and they won’t stop comin” -Smash Mouth 🎵
Best international recruit Texas has ever had already (at least for an incoming freshman Hubi might change that real quick for transfers).
Still Joseph schooling
https://swimswam.com/top-2-recruit-mens-class-2014-joseph-schooling-makes-decision/
My bad. Of course on that one, with him going to high school in the US it slipped my mind.
… and it began!
. . . . and the swimming stampede is ON!
Longhorns are going to look quite different already NEXT year (2025 – NCAA championships) and this swimmer’s addition the following year will only help.
Welcome to Texas! Hook ‘em!
It’s actually welcome BACK to Texas. Swam for in Texas until about age 11
👍💪😉
USA! USA! USA!
48.8 is not a 42.5 (if it needs to be said).
Either way it’s damn fast for a junior in HS
18yo. But still really fast for an 18yo.
I think PVK is saying it’s faster. I looked through Men’s top times from this year and couldn’t find anyone with a LC best time that fast that wasn’t at least 42.0 in yards. McFadden and Luke Maurer split the difference at 48.7 & 48.9 in LC then 42.0 and 42.2 in yards respectively. And those are 2 guys with no underwaters to speak of. Ramadan is 48.7 & 41.1 with dirty undies and Chaney is 48.8 and 41.7 with good but not great underwaters (on his stomach).
Yes. I’m saying it’s significantly faster.
I see, I don’t trust the conversions. I think it depends largely on his underwaters.
Sorry if this has been answered somewhere else but what does “director of swimming” actually mean? Who does Bob coach, when there’s already a head men’s and women’s coach? If Regan transfers to swim at Texas, can Bob coach her or will it be Carol?
Bob mentioned in his press conference that Director of Swimming allows the men’s and women’s teams to share and capitalize on resources. While I am not exactly sure, I would think that means that there will be some degree of combined practices.
Bob also said he will recruit guys that want honest feedback. I remember hearing Carol at an ASCA World Clinic talk state that she is very honest with her ladies. Being so direct doesn’t work with a lot of people. I think the honesty and security in their knowledge of swimming and coaching young adults is something they have in common.
Um – the head men’s coach is retiring effective this summer. Bob will be head men’s coach – but with some additional responsibilities for the entire program. Let’s be honest – they needed to pay Bob a boatload of money (we now know he’s the highest paid coach in ncaa swimming – by a lot) – and they couldn’t pay him that much more than Carol if they both had the same title/level. So they created this new “Director of swimming” position