Lindsey Engel Verbally Commits to Stanford

Stanford women’s head coach Greg Meehan, if the class holds up until signing day, is well on his way to the #1 class in the country. After Janet Hu verbally committed to his program earlier this week, Lindsey Engel gave her pledge this week as well. We rated her as the #5 recruit in the class of 2014, giving Stanford two of our top 5 commits.

Engel has best times of 22.2 in the 50 yard free and 48.9 in the 100 yard free to go along with 53-lows in both the 100 fly and the 100 back.

She garnered big national headlines in May when she broke the CIF-Southern Section Division III record that had been held by the legendary Dara Torres.

Engel swims for the JCC Waves in Irvine, California and attends school at Crean Lutheran.

Though early commitments like these were probably strongly considered for some time, the Stanford women’s program had a very good meet last week at the 2013 World Championship Trials, where Maya DiRado won the 400 IM and Felicia Lee also had a very good meet.

This class now has a 22.1 50 freestyler in Hu, and a 22.2 50 freestyler in Engel. To go with 2013 freshman and Olympic sprinter Lia Neal, the Stanford women line up to be very good for a long time.

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cynthia.curran
10 years ago

Lindsey went to Lutheran Crean ;and Catholic and Lutheran schools are real good for academics.

SwimDad
10 years ago

Don’t confuse the “verbal commit” in my last post (ie. an initial commitment from a swimmer to an Ivy Coach before that Coach goes to Admissions) with the “verbal commit” that Lindsey provided to Stanford (which is a swimmer’s verbal commitment to a school after he/she has been accepted and/or offered a scholarship and/or provided a “likely letter” as noted above, and is the only commitment a Div 1 swimmer can provide before signing day in November).

ShrimpNGrits
10 years ago

Stanford Women are well on their way to becoming a future powerhouse.
Good luck Lindsey!

SwimDad
10 years ago

Yes – my error. But, in my experience, before an Ivy Coach will go to Admissions for the “likely letter”, they want a commitment from the swimmer (albeit verbal). The swimmer then has to wait a week or two for the “likely letter”. That can be a long week or two if one is juggling other opportunties or offers. The Stanford approach is therefore a much better one, in my view.

farmedswim
Reply to  SwimDad
10 years ago

So when you get to verbal commit you be in! (for the most part).

Swimfan44
Reply to  farmedswim
10 years ago

When you verbally commit, you have already completed the application an have already been confirmed as accepted to Stanford.

ArtVanDeLegh10
Reply to  Swimfan44
10 years ago

I’m not so sure about that. A verbal commitment is just when a student athlete tells a coach that he/she is coming there. You can do this at anytime. I have a hard time believing that Engel/Hu have already competed the application process and have been accepted the first week of July. Admissions aren’t accepting anyone right now let alone asking for applications.

Swimdad
Reply to  ArtVanDeLegh10
10 years ago

That is what has happened and does happen at Stanford. A full complete application is submitted (very early in these cases) and is reviewed and accepted (or denied) by Stanford Admissions.

farmedswim
Reply to  ArtVanDeLegh10
10 years ago

Stanford is very rigid getting to verbal acceptance stage . A unique blend of recruiting the top tier athlete and student, To commit this early is quite an achievement on both sides. Kudos to those girls! On this Art, your opinion is respected, but not accurate..

Fear the Tree
Reply to  ArtVanDeLegh10
10 years ago

I think Art is most correct from what I have heard about the Farm. In the recruiting process, the coach will ask for transcripts. tests scores, and class schedules for senior year fairly early in the recruiting process, that info will be given to admissions, and a preliminary determiniation will be made by admissions as to whether a student-athlete is likely to be granted admission. If that answer is “yes” then it’s full steam ahead with recruiting. A verbal committment at this stage by the student-athlete probaly means the coach has heard back from admissions and that the likelihood of admission for the student-athlete is high, and the student-athlete has responded by pledging their allegiance to the school. But I… Read more »

SwimDad
Reply to  ArtVanDeLegh10
10 years ago

Farmedswim has it right. Through direct experience (not Dad of Lindsey, however), I can attest that a full application process is what is completed, and reviewed, and accepted (or denied) by Admissions before a swimmer is invited on a trip or offered a scholarship or place on the team. As noted by Farmedswim, it is unique. The numbers that are invited to go through this process and invited on a trip are much smaller than other schools too (say, maybe 10 vs. 40).

newa
10 years ago

Ivy likely letters come from the admissions officers, not the coach, after a student athlete has submitted a full application. If you get a “likely” you are as much as admitted as long as you don’t massively screw up prior to enrolling.

SwimDad
10 years ago

At Stanford, one has to complete a full application (including essays and teacher recommendations etc…) and be accepted by Admissions before being offered a trip or scholarship. Much better process than the Ivies, with their “likely letter” but not an Admission to the school (and therefore you can commit to go, get a “likely letter” from the Coach, but ultimately not get admitted).

duckduckgoose
10 years ago

Congrats to Lindsey and Greg. Meehan’s a great guy and an excellent coach and he’ll do big things on the farm.

gosharks
10 years ago

Is it true that you must first be admitted to Stanford based on academic merit before you can be considered for athletics?

Swimfan
Reply to  gosharks
10 years ago

Yes.

swimmer1
Reply to  gosharks
10 years ago

Yes, most private schools with high academic requirements require you to submit grades/ gpa and future course load before they will invite you on a trip or begin to think seriously about recruiting you. All schools require a transcript before you can “officially” visit. Ivies will grant a “likely letter” once they offer you a spot and you accept it, but you do not know if you are truly accepted until spring admissions. I would imagine Stanford and other top tier academic schools are similar.
It is very important to take a challenging full course load through your senior year, and do well in them, if this type of school is where you aim to go.
Schools will… Read more »

Farmed swim
Reply to  swimmer1
10 years ago

The official status you state is not just restricted to private schools.
Min Sat scores and gpa among other criteria, vary, Stanford like Cal can be rigid. Public and private.

SwimSwam Staff
Reply to  swimmer1
10 years ago

Stanford requires you to complete the full application, apply with the other early decision candidates, and be admitted before you are allowed to take a recruiting trip. Last thing I heard, Harvard and Princeton require test scores, a transcript, and some other info… but not a full application.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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