Courtesy: Evansville Athletics
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville swimming and diving coach Stuart Wilson announced the addition of 14 newcomers to the Purple Aces’ swimming and diving roster on Thursday, with eight men and six women joining the squad this upcoming season.
“I am really excited to be adding these 14 individuals to our program this year,” said Wilson. “We lost a very talented senior group this past season, but these 14 individuals will help us fill some of those departures this year. They are all strong, both in the pool and in the classroom, and I think that they will be great fits with our returning student-athletes. I am excited to begin working with them when the new school year begins.”
Below are brief bios on each of the 14 newcomers, starting with the six newcomers on the women’s side and concluding with the eight newcomers on the men’s team, all in alphabetical order based off last name:
WOMEN
Evelyn Chin
Butterfly and Sprint Freestyle Swimmer from Beijing, China (International School of Beijing)
Currently swims for LJ Swimming Club and the International School of Beijing in China. Set personal-best marks in both the 100 SCM (Short-Course Meters) and 100 LCM (Long-Course Meters) Butterfly events this year with times of 1:02.81 (SCM) and 1:06.36 (LCM).
Coach Wilson on Evelyn: “Evelyn is going to be a great addition to our fly group. Evelyn has a lot of upside potential, as her underwater kick is very strong. I think that she will fit in nicely with the team.”
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Luana Carrotta
Backstroke and Mid-Distance Freestyle Swimmer from Italy
Backstroke and freestyle swimmer with personal-best times of 58.57 in the 100-Yard Backstroke and 2:03.46 in the 200-Yard Backstroke, which would both challenge for spots on UE’s all-time top ten chart currently.
Coach Wilson on Luana: “Luana is coming from Italy, and will join fellow newcomer Rebecca Lago and current swimmer Sveva Brugnoli as squad members from Italy. I really think that Luana is going to help us in the backstroke events, and I can see her getting stronger for us in the sprint events as well during her time at UE.”
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Hannah Krings
Distance Freestyle Swimmer from Madison, Alabama (Westminster Christian Academy)
A three-time state finalist in the 500-Yard Freestyle at Westminster Christian Academy in Huntsville, Alabama. Also competes for the Madison Swimming Association, and has posted personal-best marks of 5:15.91 in the 500 Free and 10:51.34 in the 1,000-Free.
Coach Wilson on Hannah: “Hannah is going to help us in the distance events. I think that she has a lot of untapped potential, and I think she will see big improvements in her distance events at UE, as she hasn’t really scratched the surface when it comes to distance training. She will be a great addition to the team, and she is a team player.”
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Rebecca Lago
Sprint Freestyle and Backstroke Swimmer from Italy
A strong sprint freestyle swimmer from Italy, who has posted a personal-best short-course meter time of 58.70 in the 100-Meter Freestyle, which would convert to a time that would rank in UE’s career top ten times.
Coach Wilson on Rebecca: “Rebecca is joining Luana and Sveva as Italians on our women’s swimming team. She is going to help us in both the sprint and backstroke events. I think that she will be a great addition to the team.”
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Rafaela Makariewicz
Breaststroke Swimmer from Porto Alegre, Brazil (Colegio Monteiro Lobato)
A Brazilian medalist and south Brazilian record holder in the breaststroke events. Competes for the club team Grêmio Náutico União in Brazil, and owns personal-best marks of 1:04.14 in the 100-Yard Breaststroke and 2:23.29 in the 200-Yard Breaststroke, which would both rank in UE’s all-time top ten.
Coach Wilson on Rafaela: “Rafaela is going to make an impact in the breaststroke events for us. She is very strong and quick. I’m looking forward to using her in other events as well, as she can help the sprint freestyle group.”
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Ane Madina Garate
Backstroke and Sprint Freestyle Swimmer from Onati, Spain (Elkar Hezi Ikastetxea)
A Spanish Championship finalist in both the 50-Meter Freestyle and 100-Meter Backstroke events this year, competing for the Aloña Mendi K.E club team. Has posted personal-best times of 57.87 in the 100-Yard Backstroke, and 2:08.40 in the 200-Yard Backstroke, which would both challenge for spots on UE’s all-time top ten list.
Coach Wilson on Ane: “Ane is another person who I think will help us in the backstroke events this year. She will fit in well with the team, as her personality and attitude is very positive. I can see her making an immediate impact on our team.”
MEN
Joseph Capo
Freestyle Swimmer from Luling, Louisiana (Jesuit High School)
The Louisiana state champion in the 500-Yard Freestyle, who is ranked 392nd on Swimcloud.com’s Top 1,000 recruiting rankings. Rated as the third-best swimmer in Louisiana by Swimcloud.com, and owns personal-best marks in both the 500-Yard Freestyle (4:34.19) and 1,000-Yard Freestyle (9:23.09) which would challenge UE’s school record times currently.
Coach Wilson on Joseph: “Joseph is going to help the distance group tremendously. Having both Jackson (Caudill) and Joseph together will be a strong combo in the Mid-American Conference.”
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Omar Hassan
IM and Breaststroke Swimmer from Doha, Qatar
Claimed the silver medal in the 200-Meter IM at the 2021 Arab Championships and is ranked 758th in the world in Swimcloud.com’s Recruiting Rankings. Currently has long-course meter times of 2:08.59 in the 200 IM and 4:36.48 in the 400 IM, which would convert to times that would rank in UE’s career top ten fastest times.
Coach Wilson on Omar: “Omar and Yousef are twins. Omar will be a big help in the IM events, and another addition to our breaststroke group. I can see him improving in a big way in our program.”
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Yousef Hassan
Backstroke Swimmer from Doha, Qatar
Gold-medal winner in the 200-Meter Backstroke at the 2022 GCC Games in Kuwait, which features athletes from the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates).
Coach Wilson on Yousef: “Yousef will add more depth to the backstroke group of our team. The potential for him is there, as he has a lot of upside, and should fit in nicely with the team.”
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Adam Pawlak
Butterfly and Mid-Distance Freestyle Swimmer from Fort Thomas, Kentucky (Highlands High School)
An all-region performer in Kentucky who finished in the top 25 in Kentucky in both the 100-Yard Butterfly and 200-Yard Freestyle this past year. Competes for the Cincinnati Marlins club program, and a part of the Marlins’ first-place 200-Yard Freestyle Relay team at the 2022 ISCA meet in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Coach Wilson on Adam: “Adam comes from a strong program in the Cincinnati Marlins. He will help the team in the butterfly events, teaming with our top flyer, Daniel Santos Lopez. He also comes to UE with a very strong academic background.”
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Joao Guilherme Pereira
IM and Breaststroke Swimmer from Curitiba, Brazil
A talented swimmer from Brazil, who owns personal-best marks in both the 200 (1:51.98) and 400 IM (4:04.32) and 100 (57.36) and 200 Breaststroke (2:02.64) events which would rank among UE’s career top ten all-time.
Coach Wilson on Joao: “Joao will be a part of a strong breaststroke group here at UE. His IM events will also help us in dual meets and at the MAC Championship. I can see him taking off in his first year here at UE.”
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Michael Pruett
Sprint Freestyle Swimmer from Nolensville, Tennessee (Nolensville High School)
An NISCA Academic All-America Team selection, who has qualified for the National Futures meet. Placed seventh in the state of Tennessee in the 100-Yard Freestyle with a time of 46.26 this year, while also ranking 13th in the state in the 50 Free. Swims for the Excel Aquatics Club Team in Tennessee.
Coach Wilson on Michael: “Even with the success that he has had so far, Michael is still raw coming out of high school. He is already showing big improvements in his sprint events since the fall. I am looking forward to seeing him make an impact for us in the sprint events at UE.”
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Boris Tavrovsky
Backstroke Swimmer from Jerusalem, Israel
One of the top backstroke swimmers in Israel, who owns times which covert to short-course yard times of 49.92 in the 100 Back and 1:45.90 in the 200 Back. Both of those marks would challenge for spots on UE’s career top ten, with his 200 Back time being better than UE’s current school record. Also could contend for UE’s school record in the 50-Yard Freestyle as well.
Coach Wilson on Boris: “Boris is going to make a lot of contributions in the backstroke events for us. He also has the speed in the short freestyle events which will add depth to our sprint group. I’m excited to have him on our team.”
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Brendan Ulewicz
Sprint Freestyle and Butterfly Swimmer from Evansville, Indiana (North High School)
Competes for the Greater Evansville Aquatic Team, and has earned the Kiwanis Award and Most Improved Award during his time swimming.
Coach Wilson on Brendan: “It is always nice to get a local swimmer to swim at UE. Brendan has shown a lot of improvements in the last year. I can see Branden thrive in our program, since he hasn’t done much weight training in high school.”