Isaac Devaney, of Huntsville Swim Association and Westminster Christian High School, has committed to the University of Evansville. Devaney is primarily a backstroker, in fact he is so backstroke-focused that his 200 backstroke time is faster than his 200 freestyle:
- 100 backstroke: 52.28
- 200 backstroke: 1:54.23
- 200 IM: 1:58.01
Devaney was named All-Tennessee Valley by al.com for his runner up performance in the 100 backstroke at the Alabama State High School Championship in December 2013. His personal bests suggest he will contribute right away for the Purple Aces, as his backstroke times would have been in the top three of last year’s team, while his 200 would have been a scoring swim at the Mid-American Conference meet. Evansville needs more scorers to move up in one of the most competitive mid-major conferences, they finished just sixth out of seven teams last year, which was still their best conference finish in over thirteen years. Purple Aces coach Rickey Perkins has been named conference coach of the year four times for his efforts with the Evansville women, which would indicate that the men are relatively underfunded. In order to combat that they have cast a wide net in recruiting, which means that despite being a small school in Indiana they boast a roster from all around the country.
This guy is a stud, in and out of the water. I am sure he will be an All American soon.
This young man is just as wonderful outside the pool as he is in the water. He comes from a wonderful family, and he will no doubt be an asset to Evansville. Congrats, Isaac!
This guys freestyle must be pretty slow if he is beating them with his backstroke times.
Nice.
That takes SKILL my friend! I’d hate to race someone who can beat freestyle times in backstroke. Soon you’ll be going sub-5:00 in the 500 back at practice!
In addition to likely being underfunded, the men compete in a different conference than the women that is arguably more competitive(Missouri Valley vs. MAC). This may also help explain their relatively poor showing at the conference level. Best of luck to the Purple Aces!