GREENVILLE, N.C. — The East Carolina swimming and diving program added seven student-athletes to its 2016-17 roster during the fall signing period announced head coach Rick Kobe on Wednesday.
Joining the men’s team will be: Blaz Demsar, Ryan Owns and Grega Popovic, while the women’s team has received commitments from Kaitlyn Hauser, Catherine Johnson, Sophie McNeill and Stefanie Scherwitzel.
“As a staff we are very excited to be adding such a great group of athletes to our team,” Kobe said. “Since the spring of last year as a staff we discussed the importance of our fall signees. To have the impact we wanted, it took a team effort from my staff, as well as a commitment from our current athletes to be great hosts during recruiting visits. We are by no means done recruiting, but at this point we are very pleased with our early signees. I know my staff and I are very eager to work with these athletes next year.”
Three of the seven signees are international swimmers. Demsar and Popovic are each hail from Slovenia and Scherwitzel is a native Australian. Demsar will compete in the distance freestyle events, while Popovic has the ability to swim multiple events. Scherwitzel is also a freestyle swimmer.
Hauser and Johnson are freestyle swimmers as well and both ranked among the top-15 recruits in their state according to Collegeswimming.com. Hauser earned a pair of second-place finishes at last year’s Florida State High School 2A State Championships in the 200 and 500 freestyle. Johnson posted a pair of medal finishes at the 2014 Maryland State Championships, placing second in the 50 freestyle and third in the 100 freestyle.
McNeill is primarily a freestyle and backstroke swimmer from Durham’s Riverside High School, where she reached the consolation finals in the 200 free and 100 backstroke at 2015 North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 4A State Championships.
A native of Douglassville, Pa., Owens is a three-time high school All-American in the 100 and 200 freestyle and multi-event finalist at the 2014 AAA Pennsylvania State Championships. Owens sustained an injury late during the 2014-15 season and was unable to compete at the end of the year.
East Carolina Men’s Swimming & Diving Signees
Blaz Demsar – 200 Free 1:49.49 / 400 Free 3:53.10 / 200 Fly 2:04.01 (Times SCM)
Ryan Owens Sprint – 200 Free 1:39.33 / 100 Free 45.20 / 50 Free 20.72
Grega Popvic – 1500 Free 15:42.25 LCM / 400 Free 3:57.27 LCM /
200 Free 1:52.45 SCM
Blaz Demsar
Hometown: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Club: Olimpija Swim Club
Events: Freestyle/Butterfly
Notes: Slovenian Junior National Record Holder in 200 Freestyle … 2013 European Youth Olympic Festival Participant …2015 European Games Participant.
Kobe on Demsar: Blaz will be a tremendous asset to our program next season. He has the versatility to swim a number of events at a very high level, which will give our staff more options when it comes to a meet lineup. We anticipate him also having a strong impact within the American Athletic Conference next season.
Ryan Owens
Hometown: Douglassville, Pa.
High School: Daniel Boone
Club: Malvern Swim Association/Boytertown YMCA
Coach: Pete Lee
Events: Freestyle
Notes: Ranked ninth on collegeswimming.com among Pennsylvania recruits this season … The three-time high school All-American in the 100-yard and 200-yard free … Two-time finalist at the 2013-14 AAA Pennsylvania State Championships, finishing 3rd in the 200-yard free (1:40.08) and 5th in the 100-yard free (45.28).
Kobe on Owens: Ryan is a great kid with lots of energy, we expect him to be a perfect fit with our sprint group next fall. He battled an injury last season, but is healthy now and good to go. We are looking forward to seeing what he does this year, and expect his times coming in to be even faster after this season.
Owens on choosing ECU: “I really liked the coaches and the swim team members made me feel like part of the team on my visit and the campus was beautiful.”
Grega Popovic
Hometown: Maribor, Slovenia
Club: Branik Maribor Swim Club
Events: Freestyle
Notes: Placed 11th in the 1500 at the 2013 European Youth Festival and 12th in the Junior European Long Distance Championship (5K) … Placed 15th at the 2014 European Junior Championships … Earned 17th-place in the 800m freestyle at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games … Claimed 11the-place in the 800m freestyle at the 2015 European Games … Finished 14at in the 1500m freestyle at the 2015 World Junior Championships.
Kobe on Popovic: “Grega is an outstanding distance swimmer, well ahead of our current school record in the 1650, and right on our record in the 500 Freestyle. We are very excited to have him lead our program in those events in the coming years.”
East Carolina Women’s Swimming and Diving Signees
Kaitlyn Hauser – 200 Free 1:48.28 / 500 Free 4:50.76 / 1650 Free 16:39.43
Catherine Johnson – 50 Free 23.66 / 100 Free 52.27 / 200 Free 1:53.36
Sophie McNeill – 200 Free 1:52.62 / 100 Free 52.65 / 200 Back 2:05.72 /
100 Back 57.74
Stefanie Scherwitzel – 200 Free 1:58.79 / 400 Free 4:15.73 / 100 Free 57.04 (Times SCM)
Kaitlyn Hauser
Hometown: Estero, Fla.
High School: Estero
Club: T2 Aquatics
Coach: Paul Yetter
Events: Freestyle
Notes: Ranked seventh on collegeswimming.com among Florida recruits this season … Earned two medal finishes at the 2015 Florida High School 2A State Championships, with second-place finishes in the 200 and 500 freestyle.
Kobe on Hauser: “Kaitlyn will be a big part of our program moving forward. She already has times rivaling our current school records. From the moment she stepped on campus we felt she would be a perfect fit for our program. We can’t wait to see what she can accomplish as a Pirate.”
Hauser on choosing ECU: “I’m beyond excited to announce that I have verbally committed to East Carolina University. From the moment I arrived on campus, I knew it was going to be my home for the next four years. The coaches and team welcomed me into their family. I felt at home when I was there and didn’t want to leave. I know at ECU I will reach my full potential in academics and athletics. I want to thank my Mom and everyone who made this possible. I couldn’t have done it without my family and friends. Go Pirates!” (courtesy Swimswam.com)
Catherine Johnson
Hometown: Silver Springs, Md.
High School: Springbrook
Club: Rockville Montgomery Swim Club
Coach: Mark Eldridge
Events: Freestyle
Notes: Ranked 11th on collegeswimming.com among Maryland recruits this season … Posted a pair of medal finishes at the 2014 Maryland State Championships, placing second in the 50 freestyle and third in the 100 freestyle.
Kobe on Johnson: “We are looking forward to adding Catherine to our veteran sprint group next fall. We expect her to be an immediate asset in team relays and the 50 freestyle. She has displayed some raw speed in her 50 and we will look to develop that into her 100 and 200 next season.”
Sophie McNeill
Hometown: Durham, N.C.
High School: Riverside
Club: Carolina Aquatics
Coach: Josh Weaver
Events: Freestyle/Backstroke
Notes: Ranked 32nd on collegeswimming.com among North Carolina recruits this season … Reached the consolation finals in the 200 free and 100 backstroke at 2015 North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 4A State Championships.
Kobe on McNeill: “Sophie is a well-rounded and talented swimmer. We believe she will really excel in our program and expect to see some good things out of her as a freshman in a number of events.”
McNeill on choosing ECU: “The team was amazing and extremely welcoming when I went on my official visit. They helped make the decision really easy! Overall it is a great swim community with the team and the coaches, and I felt right at home.” ” (courtesy Swimswam.com)
Stefanie Scherwitzel
Hometown: Adelaide, Australia
High School: Trinity College
Club: Playford Aquatic Club
Coach: Paul Straight
Events: Freestyle
Notes: Multiple State Age and Open Champion in the 100, 200 and 400-meter freestyle … 2013 Australian National silver medalist in the 200m free … A 4x200m freestyle relay swimmer for the 2013 Australian Youth Team and competed at 2013 Junior World Championships in Dubai, UAE .. Serves as team captain for her school, club and state team swimming teams …Represented South Australia at the 2015 Pacific School Games in Adelaide, Australia.
Kobe on Scherwitzel: “We are very excited to add Stefanie to our team next year. She is one of Australia’s up and coming swim talents. Our staff had a great time recruiting her, and we are looking for big things out of her next fall.”
Swimming news courtesy of ECU Swimming & Diving.