UVA Receives Verbal from Illinois HS Record-Holder #13 Carly Novelline (2022)

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Sprinter Carly Novelline, #13 on our Way Too Early List of HS Recruits of 2022, has verbally committed to the University of Virginia for 2022. She’s a junior at New Trier High School on Chicago’s North Shore and trains club with NASA Wildcat Aquatics.

“I am super excited to announce my verbal commitment to further my academic and athletic career at the University of Virginia!! I want to thank my family, friends, coaches, and teammates for all of their support throughout this process. GO HOOS🧡💙⚔️⚔️ #wahoowa”

TOP TIMES (SCY)

  • 50 free – 22.46
  • 100 free – 48.82
  • 200 free – 1:48.33
  • 50 back – 24.89
  • 100 back – 53.39
  • 200 back – 1:57.87
  • 100 fly – 55.64
  • 200 IM – 2:01.38
  • 400 IM – 4:21.73

Novelline is the second-fastest 50 freestyler in the HS class of 2022, behind only 13-14 and 15-16 NAG record-holder Claire Curzan (who is not yet committed to an NCAA program). She’s also near the top of the class in the 100 free and 100 back. In long course meters, Novelline holds Olympic Trials cuts in the 50 free (25.92) and 100 free (55.76), while she’s not far off OT cuts in the 200 free (2:02.03) and 100 back (1:03.42).

At the 2019 Illinois HS State Championships, Novelline won the 100 back (53.92) and was runner-up in the 100 free (49.38). She also went 24.89 leading off New Trier’s state title-winning and state record-breaking 200 medley relay and split a 49.34 anchoring their third-place 400 free relay. In fall 2018 as a freshman, she was third in the 100 free (50.41) and fifth in the 50 free (23.22).

In fall 2022, Novelline will be teaming up with a UVA sprint group headed by incoming freshman Gretchen Walsh (21.5/46.9/1:43.7) and current roster members Kate Douglass (21.6/47.7/1:44.5) and Alex Walsh (22.0/48.9/1:45.0). G. Walsh will be a sophomore, Douglass a senior and A. Walsh a junior during Novelline’s freshman season. Additionally, Lexi Cuomo (22.0/48.4) will be a senior, Quinn Schaedler (22.8/48.8/1:45.9) will be a junior and Ella Bathurst (23.4/49.4/1:46.4), Abby Kapeller (22.6/49.9) and Kate Morris (22.8/49.8/1:46.7) will be sophomores.

UVA won the 2020 ACC team title, and Novelline already has times that would’ve scored at the 2020 championships. She would’ve been a B-finalist in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 back and a C-finalist in the 200 back and 200 free.

She will join the Virginia class of 2026 with #4 Claire Tuggle, #8 Emma Weber, #15 Zoe Skirboll, Izzy Bradley and Sophia Knapp.

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].

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Ginger
3 years ago

Why do it seem they recruit all the gingers? I guess it goes with the colors.

Dmswim
3 years ago

A ridiculous 50 free with a decent 400 IM time as well? Talk about versatile!

TPS
3 years ago

I’m tired of the UVA schtick already, and they haven’t won anything last time I checked. I don’t care about an ACC title. I don’t even know if they won or not.

NC Fan
Reply to  TPS
3 years ago

Not their fault NCAA’s got canceled. Yeah, they hype things a little too much for me but they sure looked good heading to NCAA’s and Douglass’s continual drops make the coaches look good and the recruiting classes sure show something good.

Joe
Reply to  TPS
3 years ago

Keep in mind he is replacing the great Busch Lite that was running the program into the ground, which is now happening at AZ…

Takes time to rebuild and all is moving in a right direction.

Swimfan
Reply to  Joe
3 years ago

A ridiculous statement. I wasn’t an augie fan either but they had their highest NCAA finish while he was there. Women tied it two years ago.

Joe
Reply to  Swimfan
3 years ago

You are comparing finishes to recruiting. He did well with the women who were already in the program Leah Smith. But they were not recruiting anywhere close to what Todd is and has been doing. Also keep in mind what happened with the men’s team. Lastly, they fell back from the projections heading into the meet, they didn’t move up. Fraud.

SwimFani
Reply to  TPS
3 years ago

Agree – all I keep reading is hype, and junk talk…less talk and more show like an NCAA team title. UVA supporters talk like they won the 2020 NCAA trophy IT DID NOT HAPPEN! Even the girl VOLS beat UVA in dual meet AND the Invite!!! While the 2021 NCAA meet is suspect to happen (depending on who wins the Nov 3 election), I agree UVA girls will be #1 or #2.

Go Horns
Reply to  TPS
3 years ago

You don’t like UVA, good for you! How about next time you be a mature adult and skip the article instead of being a clown and posting something like this on a post about a girl’s commitment?

John
3 years ago

The fact that UVa got a commitment from the #2 freestyle sprinter in the class makes me think Curzan is headed to Stanford. Probably why she hasn’t announced. Has to go through their admissions process.

NC Fan
Reply to  John
3 years ago

Seems like a reach to make that conclusion. You think DeSorbo wouldn’t take the #2 sprinter if he thought he could get the #1 sprinter? You think the #2 sprinter wouldn’t want to race the #1 sprinter every day in practice? I sure hope Curzan doesn’t go to UVA, but your rationale to conclude she isn’t doesn’t fly.

Perspective
3 years ago

It’s a bubble. And like any bubble, it will burst. Congrats to all these young athletes, and to UVA for creating a bubble. Lots of good programs (and Universities) out there though.

Go Horns
Reply to  Perspective
3 years ago

So would you consider consider Cal/Texas men and Stanford women to be “bubbles” considering they regularly grabbed 5-6 top 20 recruits year in and year in for more than half a decade? Last time I checked they are still doing very well.

FREEBEE
3 years ago

UVA coaches are the best recruiters in recent swimming history hands down. Who comes close (that has not won a national title?)? I wonder how much money they have left to give or if student-athletes’ families are just willing to pay to be a part of winning program, great school, and good coaching. It is not even November for the class of 2022 and they’ve landed 4 top twenty caliber athletes. How is this happening? Has Texas or Cal landed this many on the men’s side yet (is there a gender component to committing early?)?. I think this phenomenon is fascinating. Kudos to Carly and UVA.

Patrick
Reply to  FREEBEE
3 years ago

I don’t have any data but it definitely seems like most of the early commits are girls. It’s probably related to the fact that top females often swim times that could score in college by sophomore year of high school. That’s much more rare on the boys side. In any case UVa does have some incredible momentum right now. Congrats to Carly and the Virginia team!

olde coach
Reply to  FREEBEE
3 years ago

Women have 14 full scholarships to work with and the men only have 9.9. The potential is there to have 28 half scholarships if they divided up evenly which doesn’t happen. Also keep in mind that when they sign an “in stater”, the out of state tuition portion of that grant goes into their scholarship “pot of money”. This by itself can be a nice scholarship for an “out of stater”.

Swimfan
Reply to  olde coach
3 years ago

That’s not how it works. They get 14 full scholarships. Doesn’t matter if it’s in state or out of state.

Admin
Reply to  Swimfan
3 years ago

Kind of. But, many coaches don’t talk in terms of “we’re giving you a 25% scholarship” or “a 50% scholarship,” they communicate in terms of “this will be your cost to attend the University of XYZ.”

So, those grant programs don’t count toward their 14 scholarships, however it does help to reduce the “this is the cost to attend University of XYZ” cost.

Example:

A swimmer from Maryland is looking at Virginia and NC State. Virginia out of state is about $51k and NC State is about 29k.

But, if Virginia can offer a swimmer to start with a grant to in-state, that doesn’t count against their scholarship limit, that already reduces that tuition to 18,000. That’s a 65% scholarship… Read more »

John
Reply to  Braden Keith
3 years ago

And they have removed the test score requirement to qualify for academic scholarships. Also, some schools have programs where you can qualify for tuition close to the in state amount if you are out of state as long as you have a certain GPA. Arkansas is an example.

OutState
Reply to  John
3 years ago

What about Texas? What does it offer out of staters?

Hilde
Reply to  Braden Keith
3 years ago

How can one find out about what schools are able to offer without asking a coach? Is there any transparent listing somewhere? I’d like to know which schools can offer a grant to in-state instate tuition. Seems murky and secretive.
Thanks

Admin
Reply to  Hilde
3 years ago

I don’t think there’s any kind of a broad database on the internet anywhere that’s kept up to date and is considered exhaustive. Some states have state-by-state guidelines. Your child’s school guidance counselor could be a resource here – they may have access to lists.

You can generally search “school name and out of state tuition waivers” and find out on a specific school basis. Others refer to them as “grants for out of state tuitions.” It’s not really secretive. I went to Texas A&M where they had a program like that, and I knew all about it even though it didn’t apply to me.

They sort of exist to motivate high-achieving out of state students to attend. The idea… Read more »

OldSwimmer
Reply to  FREEBEE
3 years ago

“Best” if you consider extreme high pressure and threats good recruiting. Telling a 16 year old top 5 recruit who you know needs money because of their home situation you will give 80%, but the offer is only good for 5 days is pretty lowlife in my book.

About Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon studied sociology at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, graduating in May of 2018. He began swimming on a club team in first grade and swam four years for Wesleyan.

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