Emily Slabe, who has been named the Ohio High School Athletics Association Girls Swimmer of the Meet for the last two State Championship meets, has verbally committed to North Carolina, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Mike Dyer.
Slabe is an elite-level backstroker in the class, whose yards bests are 53.74 and 1:56.69 in the 100 and 200 yard races; she’s the Ohio High School State Meet Record holder in the 100.
Though she’s never flat-started better than a 54 in yards in the 100 free, at the Ohio State Championships (where her Ursuline High School went an impressive 3:23) she was 51.31 on a relay start.
Slabe is also a very good butterflier (55.0/2:00.69 in yards), though her backstrokes are probably good enough that she won’t have to worry a whole lot about the fly events.
This is the second very good backstroker that the Tar Heels have gotten a verbal commitment this week. Megan Bestor, who has been a 55.5 in the 100 back, also committed.
Slabe does her club swimming for the Countryside YMCA.