Middle-Distance/Distance Freestyler Taylor Ward Verbally Commits to Vanderbilt

Land O’ Lakes High School junior Taylor Ward has announced her verbal commitment to Vanderbilt University’s class of 2023. Ward is a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American; she was runner-up in both the 200 free (1:50.27) and 500 free (4:56.57) as a junior at the 2017 FHSAA Class 2A Championships in November, and she added a 23.83 anchor to the third-place 200 free relay and a 52.03 anchor to the fourth-place 400 free relay.

“I’m excited to announce that I have verbally committed to Vanderbilt University! With Vanderbilt’s prestigious academics balanced with SEC athletics, I couldn’t be happier to be a part of the team and class of 2023!”

Ward swims year-round for Clearwater Aquatic Team. She is a Winter Juniors qualifier in the 200 free, 500 free, and 1000 free. After an excellent Futures meet last summer that saw her notch lifetime bests in the 200/400/800/1500 freestyles, Ward continued into her junior year of high school with time drops in the SCY 50/100/200/500 free, 50 back, 50/100 fly, and LCM 100 fly.

Ward’s best 500 free time is faster than Vandy’s school record. Her 1000 would be the second-fastest in Commodores’ history after freshman Lara Hernandez-Tome’s new school mark this season. Ward will have 2 seasons with Hernandez-Tome.

Top SCY times:

  • 200 free – 1:49.65
  • 500 free – 4:49.87
  • 1000 free – 10:00.43
  • 1650 free – 16:48.42

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].

 

1
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

1 Comment
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Coach Bryan
5 years ago

Congrats Taylor!

About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently …

Read More »