Florida 4A State Finalist Anna Moore Rides Bolles-to-Florida Pipeline (2022)

High school junior Anna Moore kicked off recruiting for the Florida Gators women this week by verbally committing as a member of their class of 2026.

She joins fellow Floridian Bella Lojewski in the Gators’ class of 2022. While Lojewski announced her commitment first, Moore was the first of the two to make her commitment to the Florida coaches.

Moore swims for the Bolles School Sharks club team, but attends Creekside High School in Saint Johns, Florida. The University of Florida and the Bolles School club and high school programs have a long and deep connection. In addition to a number of Bolles swimming alumni committing to the University of Florida, including recent notable World Record holder Caeleb Dressel, a number of coaches have traveled that path as well. Current University of Florida head women’s coach Jeff Poppell was the head coach of The Bolles School and the Bolles School Sharks from 2002 through 2006 and an assistant coach there from 1993 through 2002.

In Moore, the Gators pick up a versatile swimmer who last fall was a Florida High School 4A State Championship finalist in both the 100 breaststroke and 100 free.

At that meet, she swam a 1:03.8 in the 100 breaststroke, about half-a-second slower than her best time, and cranked a 51.35 in the 100 free in prelims – which remains her lifetime best.

She has a similar skill profile to a swimmer named Carly Schwab, another former Bolles School Shark, who will start her University of Florida career this fall. Schwab is a 52.7 freestyler and a 1:01.7 breaststroker.

Best Times in Yards:

• 50 free – 23.87
• 100 free – 51.35
• 200 free – 1:53.57 (unsanctioned)
• 100 breast – 1:03.24
• 200 breast – 2:15.59
• 200 IM – 2:06.03
• 400 IM – 4:25.61

A better long course swimmer than short course swimmer to this point of her career, she has a Winter Juniors cut in the 100 breast, a Summer Juniors cut in the 200 breast, and a US Open cut in the 200 IM in meters – with the latter being a 2:21.01. Those are all based on 2019 standards, with new cuts not having been announced yet.

Moore, like many in her class, didn’t get to see the final products of her sophomore season because of the oncoming coronavirus pandemic. But her freshman year saw a huge breakout with big drops, including nearly 5 seconds in the 200 breast (2:20.23 to 2:15.59).

Her versatility as both a breaststroker and a sprint freestyler gives Poppell lots of options to direct her versatility. Both disciplines are areas of need headed into the 2020-2021 season for the Gators, who placed 2nd at the 2020 SEC Championships, but the team’s next few recruiting classes have added a lot of quality in each of those areas, including sprinters Ekaterina Nikonova (2021), Georgia Bates (2021), and Chloe Grimme (2020), and breaststroker Cecilia Porter (2020).