UCLA Lands Verbal Commitment from Mission Viejo’s Jessica Epps

Two-time USA Scholastic All-American and three-time NISCA All-American Jessica Epps, one of the top talents to come out of Southern California, has verbally committed to the University of California, Los Angeles for the 2018-19 school year. Epps swims for Tesoro High School and Mission Viejo Nadadores.

Photo courtesy of Harold Epps

Epps made a name for herself early on in her swimming career, competing at CA/NV Sectionals as a 12-year-old and going 58.9/2:08 in the 100/200 fly and 2:09/4:33 in the 200/400 IM. She also clocked a 5:04 500 free. Over the years she has broken Mission Viejo Nadadores individual or relay records 34 times.

In high school swimming Epps has been a CIF-Southern Section Division I championship finalist in all her individual events: she placed 6th in the 200 IM and 100 fly in 9th grade; 5th in the IM and 6th in the fly in 10th; and 2nd in the IM and 5th in the fly this past May. She led Tesoro to a second-place team finish in the CIF-SS Division I girls’ meet, and holds a combined 8 Tesoro individual and relay records.

Epps competed at World Championship Trials this summer in the 200 fly and 200/400 IM; at Speedo Junior Nationals she added the 200 free and 100 fly to the lineup. Last summer she swam the 400 IM at 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. A true IMer in that she does not have a glaringly weak stroke, her top SCY times are:

• 200 IM – 2:00.07
• 400 IM – 4:15.02
• 100 fly – 55.23
• 200 fly – 2:01.04
• 100 free – 50.82
• 200 free – 1:49.76
• 100 breast – 1:03.23
• 200 breast – 2:18.10
• 100 back – 57.26
• 200 back – 2:03.37

Epps will join verbal commits Abriana Howard, Emma Smethurst, and Mara Newman in the Bruins’ class of 2022.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].