U.S. Open-Qualified Breaststroker Joe Umhofer (2024) Commits to SMU Mustangs

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Joe Umhofer, a USA Swimming Scholastic-All American from Bethesda, Maryland, has announced his intention to swim and study at Southern Methodist University beginning next fall.

“I am thrilled to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at Southern Methodist University. I want to thank my family and friends for getting me to this point. Thank you to so many of my coaches through the years for not only making me be a better athlete but also a better man. I can’t wait to be a Mustang. Pony Up!!”

Umhofer is a senior at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, where he specializes in breaststroke and IM and holds multiple school records. Last season at the Washington Metropolitan Prep School Swim Dive League (WMPSSDL) Championships, he placed 4th in the 100 breast (57.67) and 10th in the 200 IM (1:58.03); he also swam breast (27.28) on the medley relay and anchored (22.23) the 200 free relay. His breast and IM times were personal bests. A week later, he competed at “Metros” in the 50 free and 100 breast, placing 34th and 12th, respectively.

Umhofer had a huge year in club swimming with Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club. In SCY, he went best times of 59.19 in the 100 breast, 2:08.09 in the 200 breast, and 1:58.73 in the 200 IM at the RMSC Holiday Invitational in December 2022. A year later, swimming at the Riley Eaton Holiday Invitational, he improved to 57.36/2:02.09 in the breaststroke events and 1:56.16 in the IM. He also added a PB in the 100 fly, dropping 4.2 seconds to notch a 53.37 (he was (57.59 a year ago).

In LCM this past summer, Umhofer dropped nearly 3 seconds in the 100 breast, 7 seconds in the 200 breast, and 9.9 seconds in the 200 IM, from his best times at the end of 2022. He finished the summer with a 1:04.82 in the 100 breast (Summer Juniors standard), 2:18.21 in the 200 breast (U.S. Open standard), and 2:15.46 in the 200 IM.

Umhofer will join a strong Mustang breaststroke group in Dallas, and should overlap with freshman Kristaps Mikelsons, sophomore Carson Witte, and juniors Joe Rusnock, Angus Corbeau, and Ben Binder, when he arrives next fall. SMU will be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, with Cal and Stanford, beginning in the 2024-25 school year.

Best SCY times:

• 100 breast – 57.36
• 200 breast – 2:02.09
• 200 IM – 1:56.16

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