Denison University has gotten a verbal commitment from Haley Gullquist, a backstroker hailing from Richmond, Virginia. Gullquist attends St Catherine’s School. Last year she finished 4th and 5th, respectively in the 100 backstroke and 200 IM events at the VISCAA State Championships, and helped her team to a 5th place finish in the 200 Medley Relay, and a 4th place in the 400 Freestyle Relay. Additionally, Gullquist swims for Poseidon Swimming Inc.
During her college search, Denison was the only Division III program on Gullquist’s radar. “From the beginning of my recruiting process, I was pretty positive that I wanted to swim Division I,” Gullquist explained. However, the visit to Denison changed that. “The campus is beautiful,” Gullquist said, “but my real deciding factor was the amazing coaching staff. The coaches showed me that they did not only care about their swimmers as athletes, but more importantly as students.”
As a Division III school, Denison prioritizes academics. Gullquist noted, “I was drawn to this school because of the strong academic rigor, along with the rising status of their swim team.” In school, she enjoys environmental science, and while she has not yet decided exactly what major she will pursue in college, Gullquist did say, she was “pretty positive that it will be science related.”
Gullquist’s best times are as follows:
- 2:05.39 200 Backstroke
- 58.30 100 Backstroke
- 2:08.32 200 IM
- 28.01 50 Backstroke
Denison University’s women finished as runner ups at Division III NCAA Championships last year. The program has finished in the top 4 at the National level 22 times since the program’s first national meet, including winning the NCAA Championship in the 2000-01 season. Additionally, the Denison women’s team has won the NCAC Conference Championship for seven consecutive years.
Really pround of you Haley