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Lexi Sawwa, a junior at Battlefield High School in Haymarket, Virginia, has committed to swim for the Virginia Tech Hokies for the fall of 2024.
I am super excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim and further academic studies at Virginia Tech!! I would like to give a big thanks to family, friends, teammates, and coaches for their amazing support along the way! I cannot wait to be a Hokie ♥️🧡
During her sophomore year, Sawwa swam for her high school team at the 2022 Virginia High School Class 6A State Championships. She led off her team’s silver medal-winning 200 free relay in 24.57. Joining her on that relay were teammates Tess Peny, Maddie Richardson, and, #8 in the re-ranked class of 2023, Camille Spink.
At that meet, Sawwa swam in the A-finals of both the 200 and 500 free, finishing 4th in the 200 (1:51.99) and 6th in the 500 (5:03.95). South County’s Katherine Helms, who just finished up her first year at NC State, won both of the events ahead of Sawwa in 1:49.45 and 4:48.76.
Representing NCAP at the NCSA Summer Swimming Championship last July, Sawwa hit personal bests in all of her primary events. In the 400 IM she lowered her prelims time of 5:14.17 to 5:10.52 at night. She also dropped new bests in the 100 (59.01), 200 (2:10.14), and 400 free (4:33.88).
Sawwa has not swum since January of this year due to having to undergo arthroscopic surgery in her right shoulder to repair a torn labrum.
“The surgery went great and I am well ahead of the recovery schedule,” Sawwa said on the surgery. “Can’t wait to compete again!”
Best SCY Times:
- 100 Free – 52.61
- 200 Free – 1:51.99
- 500 Free – 5:00.00
- 400 IM – 4:29.67
At the 2023 ACC Championships, the Virginia Tech Hokies finished in 6th out of 12 teams.
In the 500 free, the top finishers for the Hokies were juniors, Emma Atkinson and Chase Travis, who finished 4th (4:42.53) and 8th (4:43.76, respectively. Atkinson was the team’s highest-place finisher in the 200 free, finishing in 3rd (1:43.31), while Travis represented the team in the 400 IM, placing 19th (4:16.66). Sawwa could overlap with these two, should they elect to take a fifth year of eligibility.
Sawwa is only a junior, so she has more than a year (once she has recovered from surgery) to drop time in her primary events to try to get into scoring positions at ACCs. It took 4:51.64 to qualify in the 500 free, 1:48.68 in the 200 free, and 4:18.82 in the 400 IM.
Joining Sawwa in the Virginia Tech class of 2028 are two other in-state swimmers. Amanda Barnard, who has conference scoring times in the 500 and 1650, and Christine Datovech, a sprinter who is right on the cusp of being in scoring position.
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She will do well under Coach Sergio Lopez