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Abby Kapeller of Greenwood, Minnesota has verbally committed to the University of Virginia for 2021-22, joining #6 Reilly Tiltmann in the class of 2025. Kapeller swims for Riptide.
“I can’t express how excited I am to announce my verbal commitment to swim and study at the UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA⚔️🧡💙 Thank you to my family, friends, coaches and dogs for the constant support in helping me get here! I’m so hyped to be able to be a part of such an amazing team of swimmers and coaches! GO HOOS!✌🏼⚔️ #wahoowa #shift2021”
Kapeller is a junior at Minnetonka High School where she specializes mainly in sprint free and fly. As a freshman in the fall of 2017 she placed 3rd in the Minnesota High School AA State Meet with 23.54. A year later, representing Aquajets Swim Team at 2018 Winter Juniors West, she was 5th in the 50 free with a time of 22.86. She also competed in the 100 back (16th with 54.38) and 200 back and went a best time of 55.68 in the 100 fly. Kapeller went to NCSA Spring Championship in March and had top-8 finishes in the 50 free, 50 back and 50 fly. Half her best LCM times are from this summer, the other half from 2018. She went 1:01.68 in the 100m back at 2018 Summer Juniors. While that is faster than the 2020 Olympic Trials standard, she achieved the time before the qualifying period began.
Kapeller has kicked off her junior year of high school swimming with mid-season times of 22.88 in the 50 free, 25.47 in the 50 back, 54.03 in the 100 back, 54.45 in the 100 fly, and 51.25 in the 100 free. Her lifetime bests include:
| Event | SCY | LCM |
| 50 free | 22.66 | 26.52 |
| 100 free | 49.94 | 59.33 |
| 50 back | 24.81 | 28.75 |
| 100 back | 54.03 | 1:01.68 |
| 200 back | 1.58.79 | 2:20.11 |
| 50 fly | 24.10 | 27.90 |
| 100 fly | 54.45 | 1:01.57 |
Kapeller will add strength to the Cavaliers’ sprint group, and should be of even more value on relays. She would have just missed the B final in the 50 free at 2019 ACC Women’s Championships (it took 22.61 to make top 16). She also would have made the C finals in the 100 back and 100 fly. It took 47.74 to score in the 100 free, and 1:57.55 to get a second swim in the 200 back.
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UVAs recruiting is incredible. What’s the chance they win NCAA? Can Stanford and Cal compete with this recruiting?
The recruiting shift does certainly seem to be rebalancing between the two coasts. NC State has a monster class too. If Gretchen Walsh goes to UVA, I’d consider them favorites to win a title in 2021 and 2022. But, with NC State’s recruiting, and Stanford and Cal still doing very well on the west coast, “recruiting” won’t be the full equation – coaching will count too.
Be careful getting sucked into the early verbal hype. Stanford commits don’t verbal early. They can’t. So it then APPEARS that UVA is running away w the recruiting talent. UVA is doing well. But so is Stanford. They just can’t acknowledge it yet.
Another Cavalier from Minnesota! Welcome to the Virginia family, you’ve made a great choice. Go Hoos! Go Skippers! Go Aquajets!
Can’t believe people downvote. Unbelievable
Welcome to a comment section filled with anonymous trolls. It can be quite funny sometimes though.
While her best time in the 100m back is 1:01 achieved prior to the OT qualifying period, she did also swim a 1:02.7 this summer to get her OT cut.
I might be missing something, but with so many kids joint the UVA team, isn’t there less chance of many of them actually getting to travel/participate/contribute? I don’t understand the allure of joining a HUGE team. Winning is nice, but making a contribution should be a major goal of collegiate sports. The win/impact will be made by a few of the swimmers who arrive fast at UVA and what about the rest of them?
Because in the mind of a 16-17 year old, they will be the one to improve and make the travel team, and someone else will get left off.
If you always sell yourself short odds are you wont ever become fast enough to contribute to a top tier team….
Swimming also isn’t everything, UVA as a school is great academically and alumni tend to rave about the general culture of the school.
You can also argue that Virginia’s recruiting history of the past decade hadn’t really enjoy the kind of success & energetic momentum which Desorbo, Fenwick & Bachman have brought to the table. So the current coaching & swimming has to have as much of an impact as the excellent academics & culture of the school upon all these prime tier recruit’s decisions to commit to UVA over top programs like a Stanford, Cal or Michigan.
I don’t think there has been an abnormally huge number of kids joining UVA. They have had a lot of big recruits, especially on the girls side, but overall I don’t think it’s anything crazy.
oops
I think the same thing can be said for many teams. I thought the same thing with NC States recruiting success on the men’s team this year as well.
Well other than this years freshman class I think NC States class is pretty far and above the other classes
WEST COAST SWAMMER, not sure where you got this information, but it’s incorrect. I just looked up results from a random dual meet (Auburn v. Arkansas), and Auburn, who travelled to the meet, had over 20 athletes compete.
PatriciaL
Congrats Abby!!
Just an fyi that I don’t think swimswam has reported on yet…Kaki Christensen who made the A final in the 200breast is not listed on their roster anymore
#WAHOOWA
DiGiorno’s pizza sounds pretty good rn ngl
Congrats to Abby and the Kapeller family! Abby is from Minnesota. Her club is Aquajets Swim Tean and she also swims for Minnetonka HS.