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Taylor Smith, a Futures qualifier from Virginia, has announced her verbal commitment to the University of North Carolina Asheville for the 2023-2024 season. Smith is entering her senior year and Sherando High School. She swims at the club level with Valley Swim Team- Phoenix out of Stephens City, Virginia.
I chose UNC Asheville because of the awesome team environment, great coaches, the beautiful campus, and all that Asheville has to offer.
Smith competed at the 2022 Virginia High School Class 4 Championships (class 1 being the smallest, 6 being the largest). She qualified for finals in both the 100 fly and 100 breast (SCY). In the 100 breast, Smith finished 3rd in both prelims and finals. She swam a new personal best of 1:05.03, dropping 1.23 seconds from her previous best.
Smith also set a best time in the 100 fly, taking .28 seconds off her previous record. She qualified for finals in 5th place, and ultimately finished 8th overall.
Best Times SCY:
- 100 free- 53.47
- 100 breast- 1:05.03
- 200 breast- 2:24.56
- 100 fly- 58.32
- 200 IM- 2:09.76
In July, Smith set a slew of new personal bests at the Virginia Swimming Long Course Senior Championships. Her highest finish was in the 200 meter breast, coming in 22nd. Her time of 2:50.30 was nearly 3 seconds faster than her previous best time.
Smith also dropped over a second in the 100 fly, coming in at 1:05.62. She also swam the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 breast.
UNC Asheville is a Division I Mid-Major program that competes in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Conference. In 2022, They finished 3rd out of the 11 teams. This was the Bulldogs’ highest-ever CCSA finish.
Heading into her senior year of high school, Smith currently owns times that would have B-finaled at the 2022 Championships. In the 100 breast, she would have been 14th overall and 3rd for UNC-Asheville. In the 200 breast, she would have C-finaled finishing 24th overall and 5th for the Bulldogs.
Of the four current Bulldogs who would have been ahead of Smith in the breaststroke events, two will graduate before she arrives.
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