GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina University Swimming and Diving Head Coach Rick Kobe rounded out his recruiting class by adding five new student-athletes during the spring signing period. The Pirates received commitments to its women’s team from Marion Abert, Yara Fakhry and Victoria Gillet, while Josh Parmenter and Thomas Reams made their pledge to the men’s team.
The ladies join the foursome of Kaitlyn Hauser, Catherine Johnson, Sophie McNeil and Stefanie Scherwitzel, who each committed to ECU during the fall signing period.
“I am very pleased with the group we will be adding to our team,” Kobe said of the women’s squad. “It’s a diverse group that is extremely talented. My staff has done an excellent job recruiting, and putting in the hours that give us the opportunity to attract these types of athletes. We cannot wait to get them on campus and competing for the Pirates next fall.”
The addition of Parameter and Reams brings the total number of commitments for the men’s program to five after Blaz Demsar, Ryan Owens and Grega Popovic decided to join during the fall signing period.
“Replacing back to back championship classes has not been easy,” Kobe said of the men’s team. “We feel this could be one of those special groups that can be a foundation for our future. We will be adding some very talented and experienced swimmers, who will be relied on heavily next season. Each of these young men have the potential to significantly impact our pursuit of a third championship next season.”
The class is a geographically diverse one as the 12 student-athletes come from six different countries, including Australia, Belgium, Egypt, France, Slovenia and United States. There are three North Carolina natives in the group.
(In Alphabetical Order)
WOMEN
Marion Abert Toulon, France
400 Freestyle 4:12.85 LCM
200 Freestyle 2:00.54 LCM
100 Freestyle 56.66 LCM
Les Dauphins du Toec- Coach Walter Monberge
ECU COACHES: Marion is someone we have been working with for a long time. She will join us for one season as she pursues her master’s degree in Sports Science. She is an extremely talented swimmer, who should break our varsity records in the 100, 200, & 500 freestyle events next season. She should also be a major player at the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championships.
Yara Fakhry Cairo, Egypt
200 Breaststroke 2:17.30
400 IM 4:24.58
200 IM 2:04.45
Transfer: Grand Canyon University
ECU COACHES: Yara was a late addition to our recruiting class. She is a very talented IMer, and 200 breaststroker. She will have two years of eligibility remaining and we expect her to be a strong contributor at the AAC Championships next spring.
Victoria Gillet Verciers, Belgium
100 Butterfly 1:01.89 SCM
200 Butterfly 2:13.41 SCM
200IM 2:21.56 SCM
400IM 5:02.72 LCM
Verviers Natation Swim Club- Coach Jean-Bernard Bovy
ECU COACHES: We are very happy Victoria chose East Carolina University. We expect Victoria to help fill the hole left by the graduation of one of our all-time top flyers last season. Her versatility to swim IM events as well will make her very valuable throughout the entire season.
Kaitlyn Hauser Estero, Florida
200 Freestyle 1:48.28
500 Freestyle 4:50.76
1650 Freestyle 16:39.43
Swim Florida – Coach Mac Kennedy
ECU COACHES: 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. Can’t wait to see what she can accomplish as a Pirate.
Catherine Johnson Silver Springs, Maryland
50 Freestyle 23.66
100 Freestyle 52.27
200 Freestyle 1:53.36
Rockville Montgomery Swim Club-Coach Maneth Gravel
ECU COACHES: Looking forward to adding Catherine to our veteran sprint group next fall. We expect her to be an immediate asset in team relays & the 50 freestyle. She has displayed some raw speed in her 50 and we will look to develop that into her 100 & 200 next season.
Sophie McNeill Durham, North Carolina
200 Freestyle 1:52.62
100 Freestyle 52.65
200 Backstroke 2:05.72
100 Backstroke 57.74
Carolina Aquatics – Coach Josh Weaver
ECU COACHES: Sophie is a well-rounded & talented swimmer from just down the road in Durham. 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.
Stefanie Scherwitzel Adelaide, Australia
400 Freestyle 4:15.27SCM
200 Freestyle 1:58.79SCM
100 Freestyle 57.04SCM
Playford Aquatic Club – Coach Paul Straight
ECU COACHES: 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.
(MEN)
Blaz Demsar Ljubljana, Slovenia
200 Freestyle 1:49.49SCM
400 Freestyle 3:53.10SCM
200 Butterfly 2:04.01LCM
Olimpija Swim Club
ECU COACHES: 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 Douglasville, Pennsylvania
200 Freestyle 1:39.33
100 Freestyle 45.20
50 Freestyle 20.72
Boyertown YMCA- Coach Alex Wilcox
ECU COACHES: 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.
Josh Parmenter San Diego, California
100 Breaststroke 56.66
200 Breaststroke 2:01.83
400 IM 3:59.77
200 IM 1:53.16
Rancho San Deguito Swim Team – Coach Joe Benjamin
ECU COACHES: Josh was a late addition to the men’s class. He had a great recruiting visit, and we felt he could have an immediate impact next season. We are excited to have him with us. He will be one of the freshman with the opportunity to take over the top spots in our breaststroke events as his career progresses.
Grega Popovic Maribor, Slovenia
1500 Freestyle 15:41.01LCM
800 Freestyle 8:06.79LCM
400 Freestyle 3:57.27LCM
200 Freestyle 1:52.45SCM
Branik Maribor Swim Club
ECU COACHES: Grega is an outstanding distance swimmer, well ahead of our current school record in the 1650, and very close to our record in the 500 Freestyle. We are very excited to have him lead our program in those events in the coming years.
Thomas Reams Durham, North Carolina
50 Freestyle 20.69
100 Freestyle 45.83
100 Backstroke 51.55
Southwestern Oregon Community College
ECU COACHES: Thomas will add some experience to a young group of sprinters next season. He is a proven leader. Before leaving Southwestern Oregon a leadership award bearing his name was created by the athletic department. That says a lot about the type of kid we are getting. We look forward to having him in the mix next season.
Swimming news courtesy of ECU Swimming & Diving.