2020 high school graduates Genna Joyce from Raleigh, North Carolina and Melina Hughes from White Bear Lake, Minnesota have both announced their transfers to Liberty University for the upcoming school year.
Genna Joyce
“I chose Liberty University because I am looking forward to joining a program that is comprised of an exciting team, talented coaches, and outstanding facilities at a school offering a supportive student-athlete environment. Go Flames!!”
Joyce attended Apex High School in the class of 2020 before spending the 2020-21 school year as a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh. A breast/IM specialist, she swims year-round with Marlins of Raleigh. In high school, she was a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American and a Futures champion in the 200 breast. She was named to the 2019 18&Under World 100 List by USA Swimming for her 200 breast time of 2:33.72, which was ranked 98th in the world that year.
At Pitt, she made the conference team her freshman year and swam the 100 breast (38th), 200 breast (21st), and 400 IM (27th).
Best times:
- 200 breast – 2:14.51
- 100 breast – 1:03.60
- 200 IM – 2:05.12
- 400 IM – 4:24.95
Melina Hughes
“I’m excited to announce my decision to continue my academic and athletic career at Liberty University. Proverbs 3:5 ❤️💙”
Hughes graduated from White Bear Area Lake High School and began as a freshman at the University of New Mexico in the fall of 2020. She is a sprint free/fly specialist and swims year-round with the club team Riptide. Most of her PBs date from 2018 and 2019 when, among other things, she cracked a 1:02.51 100 LCM butterfly to earn a Winter U.S. Open cut. She also swam Futures standards in the 50 free and 100 back.
Best SCY times:
- 50 free – 23.86
- 100 free – 52.54
- 100 fly – 55.89
- 50 back – 26.19
- 100 back – 57.73
Joyce and Hughes will join the Flames with Abby Shaw, Ella Kahn, Emmy Gallion, Grace Isaacs, Kate Baker, Lauren Wilson, Mary-Ashlynne Gordon, and Sydney Stricklin.