ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan men’s swimming and diving head coach Mike Bottom announced on Friday (Nov. 21) the signings of six prep standouts (five swimmers, one diver) to National Letters of Intent for the 2015-16 year. They include swimmers Mokhtar Al-Yamani (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary’s International), Javier Barrena (Madrid, Spain/The Bolles School [Fla.]), Stephen Holmquist (Wilton, Conn./Wilton), Blake Maczka (Richardson, Texas/Pearce) and Jordan Ross (Roswell, Ga./Roswell) and diver Collin DeShaw (Holland, Mich./West Holland).
“This is a small class, but it is one that has great potential,” Bottom said. “All of these young men are capable of contributing in several areas and will help strengthen our team’s culture both in and out of the pool. We can’t wait to get them on campus.”
Al-Yamani is a sprint freestyler from Tokyo, Japan, who currently swims at St. Mary’s International School. It is the same school that produced current Michigan senior Bruno Ortiz and former swimmers Miguel Ortiz (2010-13) and Ryutaro Kamiya (2011-14). In Japan, Al-Yamani has won National Age Group (NAG) championships in the 13-14 and 15-16 groups.
Al-Yamani Top Times: 23.96 LCM in 50 Freestyle, 52.20 LCM in 100 Freestyle, 1:53.10 LCM in 200 Freestyle
Barrena is a multi-event swimmer from Madrid, Spain, who currently attends and swims at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla. He swims internationally for Spain, winning the 100-meter backstroke and 100-meter butterfly at last year’s Spanish Junior National Championships. At the 2013 Speedo Winter Junior National Championships, Barrena was seventh in the 100-yard butterfly (48.67) and 17th in the 200-yard butterfly (1:47.60). He earned back-to-back runner-up finishes in the 100-yard butterfly at the Florida 1A State Championships as a junior and senior, while also finishing third in the 200-yard IM as a senior.
Barrena Top Times: 55.41 LCM/48.67 SCY in 100 Butterfly, 2:01.63 LCM/1:47.60 SCY in 200 Butterfly, 2:06.45 LCM/1:51.65 SCY in 200 IM
Holmquist is a distance freestyle swimmer from Wilton, Conn., who attends Wilton High School and trains with the Wilton YMCA Wahoos Swim Club. He comes from the same club as current freshman Ian Rainey. At the 2013 YMCA Long Course National Championships, Holmquist won the 800-meter freestyle (8:23.37), took second to Rainey in the 1,500-meter freestyle (16:07.02), while also taking fourth in the 400-meter IM (4:34.07) and 12th in the 400-meter freestyle (4:04.10). At the 2014 Speedo Junior Nationals, Holmquist was sixth in the 1,500-meter freestyle (15:41.42), 18th in the 800-meter freestyle (8:17.21) and 20th in both the 400-meter freestyle (3:59.35) and 400-meter IM (4:27.35). In addition, his father, Peter, swam for Michigan (1984).
Holmquist Top Times: 3:59.21 LCM/4:29.80 SCY in 400/500 Freestyle, 8:17.21 LCM/9:13.81 SCY in 800/1,000 Freestyle, 15:41.42 LCM/15:24.09 SCY in 1,500/1,650 Freestyle, 4:27.35 LCM/3:54.03 SCY in 400 IM
Maczka is a distance freestyle swimmer from Richardson, Texas, who attends Pearce High School and trains with the City of Richardson Swim Team. At the 2014 NCSA Junior National Championships, he finished fourth in the 1,650-yard freestyle (15:16.44), eighth in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:09.47) and 11th in the 500-yard freestyle (4:27.75). He also finished 22nd in the 800-meter freestyle (8:09.16) and 28th in the 1,500-meter freestyle (15:36.10) at the 2014 Phillips 66 National Championships. Maczka was runner-up for the 500-yard freestyle (4:26.74) at the 2013-14 Texas 5A State Championships.
Maczka Top Times: 4:04.24 LCM/4:26.74 SCY in 400/500 Freestyle, 8:09.16 LCM/9:09.47 SCY in 800/1,000 Freestyle, 15:36.10 LCM/15:16.44 SCY in 1,500/1,650 Freestyle
Ross is a multi-event swimmer from Roswell, Ga., who attends Roswell High School and trains with Swim Atlanta. At the 2014 NCSA Junior National Championships, Ross was sixth in the 200-yard backstroke (1:45.66) and 12th in the 100-yard backstroke (49.55). He finished sixth in the 100-yard freestyle (46.50) at the 2013-14 Georgia 6A State Championships. At the 2014 Speedo Junior Nationals, Ross was 24th in the 200-meter backstroke (2:05.80).
Ross Top Times: 25.23 LCM/21.58 SCY in 50 Freestyle, 51.96 LCM/46.50 SCY in 100 Freestyle, 1:56.20 LCM/1:39.38 SCY in 200 Freestyle, 58.89 LCM/49.33 SCY in 100 Backstroke, 2:04.50 LCM/1:45.66 SCY in 200 Backstroke
DeShaw, the only diver in the class, is from Holland, Mich., attends West Holland High School and dives with the Grand Rapids Diving Club. Last year, he was an All-State selection, and was named both Michigan Diver of the Year (for the 18-19 Boys Age Group) and Zone 5 Diver of the Year. He is also a two-time All-American and a two-time All-Conference selection. One of his best national events came at the 2014 USA Diving Summer Junior Region 4 Championships, where he finished 11th on one-meter (392.70) and 13th on three-meter (399.60). Deshaw was also a defensive back on the West Holland football team.
Five student-athletes (three swimmers, two divers) will see their eligibility expire at the end of the year: Ortiz, Kevin Bain, Thomas Jahnke, Richard Funk and Justin Glanda.
The above is a press release submitted by the Michigan Athletics Department.