Head coach Josh Willman of the University of New Hampshire women’s swimming & diving program is pleased to announce the addition of five student-athletes for the 2015-16 season.
The freshman quintet consists of swimmers Linnea Lemerise (Brentwood, N.H.), Brittany Driscoll (Wallingford, Conn.), Holly Driscoll (Wallingford, Conn.), Maddie Murphy (Liverpool, N.Y.) and diver Erin Cullather (Highland Park, Ill.).
“This early signing period has been great and we are midway through putting together what could prove to be one of our strongest freshman classes ever,” said Willman. “Currently, we have swimmers and divers from across the United States as well as Canada, Denmark, South Africa and Russia. We focused a lot of our recruiting efforts this past year regionally and we could not be happier that some of the best athletes in New England and the Northeast have chosen New Hampshire.”
Here’s a look at each of the newcomers:
Linnea Lemerise
Brentwood, N.H.
Exeter High School
Portsmouth Swim Club
Ranked third in New Hampshire by CollegeSwimming.com
Event Time
100 Back 55.43
200 Back 1:58.88
200 IM 2:04.38
400 IM 4:23.90
Willman on Lemerise: “Linnea is a senior national qualifier and holds the fastest 100-yard backstroke time in New Hampshire. Additionally, her 200-yard backstroke is one of the best in New England. Her versatility in the individual medleys will be great for us. We envision her to break into the National College rankings.”
Lemerise on UNH: “I chose UNH because it has a great facility with an amazing team and great coaches. There is much to be said for the many accomplishments of the entire UNH team over the years and I cannot wait to be a Wildcat swimmer.”
Brittany Driscoll
Holly Driscoll
Wallingford, Conn. Wallingford, Conn.
Lyman Hall High School Lyman Hall High School
Cheshire YMCA Cheshire YMCA
Ranked second in Connecticut
by CollegeSwimming.com Ranked 14th in Connecticut
by CollegeSwimming.com
Event Time
Event Time
200 Breast 2:16.58 100 Breast 1:07.11
500 Free 4:56.80 200 Breast 2:24.12
400 IM 4:21.52
Willman on Driscoll Twins: “We are also excited to have Holly and Brittany Driscoll join the team. Both girls are strong breaststrokers with Brittany being able to compete in almost any event. She comes to UNH with times similar to current senior NCAA qualifier Katie Mann (Prince George, British Columbia) when she entered UNH as a freshman.”
B. Driscolll on UNH: “UNH has constantly astounded me since the day I visited the campus for the first time. The team is determined and driven both athletically and academically, as shown by their NCAA qualifiers, time drops and success in the classroom.”
H. Driscoll on UNH: “I was deeply impressed by UNH’s academic standing, especially the opportunities for research offered in the science departments. The swim teams conference championship record is most impressive, as is the women’s rate of individual improvement.”
Maddie Murphy
Liverpool, N.Y.
Liverpool High School
Liverpool Jets
Ranked fifth in New York by CollegeSwimming.com
Event Time
50 Free 23.65
100 Free
52.27
Willman on Murphy: “Murphy specializes in sprint freestyle and will be a solid addition to our sprint group training alongside upperclassmen standouts Sarah Broderick (Haverhill, Mass.) and Liza Baykova (Moscow, Russia).”
Murphy on UNH: “I chose UNH because I was inspired by such a positive, hardworking group of women and I wanted to be a part of it. With the high standards set by NCAA qualifiers and so many individual conference champions, along with an award-winning coaching staff, I have no doubt that the UNH team will push me to become the best student-athlete I can be.”
Erin Cullather
Highland Park, Ill.
Highland Park High School
Glenbrook Aquatics
Willman on Cullather: “Erin is an experienced diver having competed both in high school and her club team and will help boost the diving component of our team.”
Cullather on UNH: “I chose UNH because I loved the team and I felt like I fit it very easily. It excites me that the team has won eight conference championships with two titles in the past two seasons and I cannot wait to be a part of that experience.”
UNH returns to pool at the Rutgers Invitational. The Sonny Werblin Recreation Center sets the stage for the three-day meet beginning Friday, Nov. 21 and concludes Sunday, Nov. 23.
College Swimming News courtesy of the University of New Hampshire.
