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Alexia Zaidi from Owings, Maryland has made her verbal commitment to attend and swim for the US Military Academy at West Point.
“I am so honored and excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at Army-West Point. I would like to thank my friends, family, and coaches for supporting me. Go Army! ”
Zaidi, a current high school junior, specializes in backstroke, with a strong range in the 400 IM as well. She currently competes for the Naval Academy Aquatics Club, which runs out of the Lejeune Pool on the US Military Academy campus in Annapolis. There, Zaidi is a Futures qualifier in both the 100 backstroke and 400 IM. She also competed in all three backstroke events at the USA Swimming Spring Cup last May, a meet that served as a replacement for Junior Nationals.
Best Times:
- 100 backstroke: 57.83
- 200 backstroke: 2:02.23
- 400 IM: 4:29.82
- 200 Freestyle: 1:56.51
- 200 IM: 2:08.84
With almost 2 seasons left to improve her times before entering college, Zaidi already is slated to contribute to Army’s roster. In both the 200 backstroke and 400 IM, her times would rank 5th on the team this season. In addition, her best time in the 100 backstroke would rank 7th. Given her strength in the 400 IM, Zaidi may be able to develop into a force in the 200 IM as well.
At the 2020 Patriot League Championships, Zaidi would have made the B-final in the 200 backstroke with her best time. In fact, she’s already very close to the 2:02.11 it took to make the A final as well. She also would have just missed the A final in the 400 IM, which required a 4:28.04. At those Championships, the Army women placed 4th out of 10 teams. The team was led by Lauren Carag in the 100 backstroke as she placed 3rd overall in a time of 54.25. The top 200 backstroker for Army at the meet was Josephine Marsh, who made the A final of the event and placed 7th in a time of 2:00.96.
Zaidi’s commitment is pending an appointment to the academy, which requires a more involved application process than most colleges. Top candidates receive a Letter of Assurance as early as September of their senior year, with final offers of appointment arriving by April 15 of their senior year.
With her commitment, Zaidi is set to join Clarice Spencer, Ela Habjan, Marin Rose, and Erin Miller in Army’s class of 2027.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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