Sprint News 9/1/12: Huge Recruiting Trips in Cal, Ervin Not Done Yet, A&M To Face 3 SEC Opponents

…Missy Franklin and several other major recruits are taking in a Cal football game this weekend. 2012 Junior Pan Pac Champion Leah Smith Tweeted the above picture earlier of 5 top-25 recruits in Cal colors: Missy FranklinLeah SmithLinnea MackCelina Li, and Kristen Vredeveld. The Cal football team will take on Nevada today at noon west coast time…

…Thanks to one of our readers for pointing this out, but Anthony Ervin has confirmed that he’s not retiring again; at least immediately. In a video on his facebook page (see here), Ervin has confirmed that he plans to participate in the World Cup series this fall and in the World Short Course Championships in Istanbul in December. Ervin was 2nd in the 50 free at the U.S. Olympic Trials after nearly a decade away from the sport, and ended up 5th in the same event at the Olympics…

…The Texas A&M Aggies have revealed their schedules for the 2012-2013, and just like their football team, the Aggies’ will get an early taste of the SEC in a dual meet against the Florida Gators. Unlike football, though, the swim team will have to travel to Gainesville for the matchup on November 2nd. The Aggies’ first meet will be against another SEC foe, South Carolina, in a tri with North Carolina. As a part of this new SEC schedule, the Aggies are both facing unfamiliar opponents, and much more frequently travelling with men and women together (the two teams are separately administered). Other SEC matchups in year 1 include welcoming Auburn and LSU to College Station in January. Just like about every other sport, the A&M men and women will not have a dual meet this season with the University of Texas after A&M left the Big 12 Conference…

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Old Time Coach
12 years ago

Someone should report about Tulane’s Head Coach stepping down and having an Interim named….

Tulane won C-USA before Katrina, suspended the program, then brought it back post Katrina, although without the same success. Interesting challenge for an Conference that welcomes a bunch of teams next year (and says goodbye to some).

anonymous
12 years ago

Out of curiosity (huge swim fan…but still learning the detailed facets of the sport…) does UGA have a post-grad program? I don’t remember a single swimmer who was training there (in post-grad) who is/was in the olympics. There are certainly a handful of current undergrads of course. I’m curious, why doesn’t Jack have a post-grad group? I guess it might just be too much for him to handle considering he has to coach both the men’s and women’s teams. Anyways, despite how great Jack’s program is at Georgia, I feel like the lack of a post-grad program may deter Missy….which hence ultimately makes her lean to Cal (and possibly USC, Texas…and Stanford if Meehan calls her soon). Unlike other Georgia… Read more »

Penelope
12 years ago

look I hate UGA with a passion only granted to someone who grew up a fan of the better state university in Ga..( Ga Tech top 10 public university) and, I am an alumni of the school with the historically strongest overall swim team in the SEC of the last 12 -15 years… Auburn. Too bad they arent in the mix for Missy but something isnt quite right over there in that sport if you ask me these days.
However, you are all dead wrong about the quality of the education at UGA- Athens is a great town, UGA is the quintessential college experience and it is a huge university with great majors especially in business,&broadcast journalism, pre-law etc… Read more »

duckduckgoose
Reply to  Penelope
12 years ago

I’ve been to dozens of college campuses/towns (Pac 12, SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Ivy) including every one of Missy’s finalists, and it wasn’t clear to me which college atmospheres were real and which ones were fake/imaginary/inauthentic.

mother
Reply to  duckduckgoose
12 years ago

Since you seem to want to be a nitpicker about the wording- let me make it perfectly clear– many of you are demeaning UGA’s academics out of a misguided sense of superiority we in the south are used to– My point was, Duck, the overall atmosphere is BETTER in terms of a TRADITIONAL college atmosphere or experience. It is a TOP 5 program in a great town at a very good university and I think the sense of team she has spoken about in the past would make UGA a good choice, if that is what is important to her. Is that easier to understand what I was talking about? Berkeley is hardly a traditional place and that is fine,… Read more »

duckduckgoose
Reply to  mother
12 years ago

I’m perfectly fine with independent third party rankings, as apparently you are too (having cited top 10 public universities and top 5 swimming programs). Where do you think Cal ranks on each of those lists?

DutchWomen
12 years ago

Look people you’re making this too complicated.

Cal training > Georgia training

Cal training = USC training

Cal training > Texas training

Teri > Dave based solely on Teri being Missy’s head coach this summer in London

Done.

duckduckgoose
12 years ago

Super Bowl & NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers picked Cal solely because of a Cal women’s swim meet during his recruiting trip…

Old Time Coach
12 years ago

SwimCoachProblems……

Bring best recruits in the nation to cupcake game in new stadium operner….

Lose to cupcake.

Joking aside, probably doesn’t make a difference.

Royale w/Cheese
Reply to  Old Time Coach
12 years ago

I agree it probably doesn’t matter, but when SC and Georgia take Missy to a real football game with real 90,000 rabid fans watching top 10 teams play it would be something I would consider.

Missy is skipping the cash to have a college experience and part of that is the football atmosphere. Georgia wins hands down on this aspect, when USC is no good in football (very rarely) the fans don’t show. Georgia they live and breathe it and want coaches fired when they go 10-2.

DR. EVIL
12 years ago

Georgia – Good program, but yardage volume based. Not a good fit at all swimming wise from the training you have come from and definately succeeded with.

Cal – Good program

USC – Great program for all strokes and all distances. Absolute best combination of swimming, academics, facilities of any…PERIOD. USC is also the best location if in 2 years you want to go pro…can still train with Coach Salo without moving, but close to all the good media outlets.

Michigan ??? – I think if Ann Arbor was a good location, Bob Bowman would have never left. They are going to be very lucky to keep Bottom very much longer!!!

joeb
Reply to  DR. EVIL
12 years ago

Dr. Evil…keep Mike Bottom?!?!. He has been there 4 years and nothing special has happened compared to the histroy there and Josh coached their only American Olympian, not Mike. The history of Michigan does show that Ann Arbor can produce good swimmers, just not with Bottom. Has he developed anyone who wasn’t already good or anyone who swims anything longer than a 100?

FREEBEE
Reply to  joeb
12 years ago

I wish we had some money on all this. I would put all my money against USC and Texas for getting Missy. It will either be Georgia, Stanford, or Cal–leaning toward the latter 2.

DR. EVIL
Reply to  joeb
12 years ago

Your right…Bottom has done nothing but win two consecutive Big 10 Men’s Championships. Really insignificant..”?!?!”

Texas…Stanford…vanilla…no difference.

USC – Olympic championship swimmers past and future…all strokes all distances. Perform well short course..long course…open water! Absolute best fit with previous training from high school. Best media market for future endorsements. Try doing that in Ann Arbor>>>!!!

Missy…if your out there….Listen To DR. EVIL!!

joeb
Reply to  DR. EVIL
12 years ago

winnning Big Tens is not a big deal. Sorry. look what Durden did at Cal after Bottom left. Night and day! he is smoke and mirrors…best thing he has done at Michigan is get Josh there.

WM
Reply to  joeb
12 years ago

Smoke and mirrors…really? Gary, Tony, Duje, Bart K, Joe B,..just to name a very select few. When we got Mike on board at Cal in ’97/’98 we went from 15th in ’96/’97 to 8th in his first year there, and 4th the following year. Personally, under Mike I went from 20.9 to 20.0 in the 50, 45.7 (high school) to 44.5 in the 100, and 56.7 to 54.7 in the 100m fly. Mike is coaching a team with an identity crisis…he makes no bones about being a sprint coach. He took over a team which historically was branded as a distance program, as well as combining previously separate men’s and women’s teams. Mike is a great coach dealing with a… Read more »

Royale w/Cheese
12 years ago

This decision by Missy Franklin is FASCINATING for college swim fans. The comparison to LeBron James “Decision” is not far off for people who care about D1 swimming.

Having lived and swam in California my whole life, I am totally biased towards California schools but I have to think that her choice here is between Cal and USC. It’s nice to think Georgia has a chance here, but Cal and SC seem to suit Missy’s bubbly personality (what we are shown seems believable) a little better. She seems like a California girl to me…

It’s always funny to me that so many swimmers choose Cal, the weather is not great all the time there and they do swim outdoors.… Read more »

CheeseburgerRoyale
Reply to  Royale w/Cheese
12 years ago

70 Nobel Prizes, 9 Wolf Prizes, 7 Fields Medals, 15 Turing Awards, 45 MacArthur Fellowships, 20 Academy Awards and 11 Pulitzers. 16 chemical elements discovered-more than any other university in the world. 84 national titles in 15 sports including football, basketball, baseball, softball, crew, tennis, swimming, water polo, track and rugby. 256 individual national champions and 176 Olympic medals. There’s only one Cal and it’s in Berkeley.

WM
Reply to  CheeseburgerRoyale
12 years ago

Roll on!!!

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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