Stanford Women Add Seven Recruits, Top Class in the Country

The Stanford women’s swimming and diving team received committments from seven recruits for 2014-15, head coach Greg Meehan announced today. The recruits consist of six swimmers and one diver, hailing from five states.

“We are really excited about the high school class we have signed this fall,” said Meehan. “It’s a wonderful group of young women that will walk in the door and be impactful in our program in a lot of different ways.”

The multi-talented group includes American World Championship Team member Simone Manuel (Sugar Land, Texas) and 2012 AT&T National Diving champion Gracia Leydon-Mahoney (Newton, Mass.).

Meehan and assistant coach Tracy Duchac have filled a number of spots in the Stanford lineup with the class. Manuel is joined by fellow freestyler Alexandra Meyers (Fox Point, Wis.) and breaststroke specialist Heidi Poppe (Danville, Calif.), while three recruits, Janet Hu (Vienna, Va.), Lindsey Engel (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) and Ally Howe (Portola Valley, Calif.), compete in various events.

Leydon-Mahoney will add to an already strong group of divers for the Cardinal and diving coach Dr. Rick Schavone.

“Gracia is a top U.S. diver,” said Schavone. “She is equally accomplished on both springboard and platform and we are extremely excited to have her join our program. She will be a very strong addition to the Stanford swimming and diving team in the next four years.”

The future Cardinal will join a Stanford team that finished eighth at last year’s NCAA Championships. The 2013-14 Cardinal, ranked No. 7 in the country, is off to a 4-0 start in dual meets.

This release was provided to SwimSwam courtesy of Stanford Swimming and Diving.