Men's Swimming and Diving Adds Eight During Early Signing
11/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Nov. 18, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - University of Michigan men's swimming and diving head coach Mike Bottom announced today (Nov. 18) the signing of eight swimmers to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period.
Kyle Duckitt (Johannesburg, South Africa/St. John's College), Jonathon Ekleberry (Rochester, Mich./Avondale), Connor Jaeger (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven), Ryutaro Kamiya (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary's International), Sean Ryan (Hixson, Tenn./McCallie School), Kyle Whitaker (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton), John Wojciechowski (Scottsdale, Ariz./Phoenix Brophy Prep), Michael Wynalda (Wyoming, Mich./Grandville) have signed their NLIs to join the Wolverines in 2010-11.
"We are really excited about this group of guys," Bottom said of his second recruiting class at Michigan. "What an unbelievable class. The depth of this group will really help us move forward. Not only is this group full of great swimmers, it is also full of great people. This is really a quality group away from the pool, and they will continue to represent the University of Michigan the way we expect our swimmers to do. They are strong academically and will help us strive to hit our team goal of a 3.4 GPA. This is a good start, and we hope to add some more to this class as the year progresses."
Whitaker is considered the number one recruit in the 2010 senior class, according to collegeswimming.com. He was a member of the National Youth Team, earning a trip to the World Cup, where he won a bronze medal in the 400-meter individual medley. Whitaker was the only member of the U.S. team to qualify for more than one event, participating in five competitions at the World Cup. He is also a junior national champion in five events, the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter butterfly, 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter individual medley and 400-meter individual medley. In addition to his international experience, he has won a total of nine Indiana high school state titles, including three straight in both the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard butterfly.
"Kyle is one of the hardest working guys I have ever seen," Bottom said of the Indiana recruit. "His talent level is unbelievable, but his coach Kevin Kinel has really instilled in him a great work ethic. He was elected team captain of the U.S. team in Europe this past month, which really speaks to the type of leader and swimmer he is. He is a team person and a great individual swimmer at the same time, something we are excited about adding to our team."
Duckitt will provide the Wolverines with a solid breaststroker, something that Bottom wanted to address with this class. He is currently ranked No. 10 on Swimming World Magazine's class of 2010 rankings.
"He swims for a team in South Africa that is famous for supplying the United States with great talent. The quality of strokes and the quality of people coming out of this program is second-to-none. I have coached with his coach, Peter Williams, and I am excited to get to coach one of his athletes. I feel Duckitt will come in and immediately be one of the best breaststrokers in the country," Bottom said.
Wynalda, a 6-8 freestyle swimmer, swam the fifth-fastest 100-meter freestyle 18-and-under race last summer. He won the Michigan high school state championships in the 200-yard freestyle in 2009, while finishing runner-up in the 100-yard freestyle to current U-M freshman Sam Hoekstra.
"One of our goals since coming to Michigan has been to keep the top high school talent in the state. I think we achieved that this year with Ekleberry and Wynalda," Bottom explained." Wynalda is a tall, fast and exciting swimmer, but what is even more exciting is that he is a Michigan kid. He wants to be at the top of the international circuit in the sprints, and he wants to achieve that by coming here. He is a great addition for us."
Ekleberry will bring depth to the Wolverine distance corps. He comes from the Oakland Live Y'ers Swim Club, the same club that produced former U-M swimmers Christian, Peter and Alex Vanderkaay along with current Michigan sophomore Dane Vanderkaay.
"Ekleberry, along with Sean Ryan, will really help us become one of the best distance units in the country," Bottom said. "The duo will pair up with Ryan Feeley and Dane Vanderkaay to provide the depth we need as we move forward. He comes here with a great background and a huge potential to get faster and better."
Ryan competed in the FINA World Championships this past summer, participating in the 25k open water race. At the U.S. Championships, he finished third in the 10k to earn a spot on the senior team to become the only high schooler to represent the United States this past summer in Rome. Ryan currently holds the second fastest 400-meter freestyle and third fastest 1,500-meter freestyle times for U.S. high schoolers this season.
"Ryan is the ultra-distance swimmer who is going to add a new dimension to our distance corps," Bottom said. "We are excited to be able to get a developed open-water swimmers here to Michigan because we want our program to span the full competitive range. Adding Sean will allow us to immediately compete on a world-class level."
Jaeger, a mid-distance and butterfly swimmer, broke Shore Conference Championship records in the 50-yard freestyle (21.47) and 100-yard freestyle (46.73) at the 2009 conference championships. He also won the 100-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle at the Monmouth County Championships earlier this year.
"What I am really excited with about Connor is the amount of potential he brings to Michigan. He has a ton of upside, along with versatility and range. He can swim anywhere from the 50-yard to the 500-yard freestyle and swim it well," Bottom said.
Kamiya comes to the Wolverines from Tokyo, attending the same high school as current freshman Miguel Ortiz. He swam the 200-meter freestyle in 1:48.00, giving Michigan more depth in the mid-distance area.
"He is a great pick-up for us," Bottom said of his second athlete to come from St. Mary's International school in the past two years. "He is a very intelligent person. He is Japanese, but attending an English school in Tokyo and coming to us from a great program. Miguel (Ortiz) is such a gentleman and a great person, and we look forward to Ryutaro bringing the same thing to our program."
Wojciechowski won four Arizona state titles last year, winning the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay. He is the Arizona high school record holder in the 100 butterfly, winning the state crown in a time of 47.87. Wojciechowski is also a member of the National Youth Team.
"John provides us with another quality swimmer and person," Bottom said. "He has very high academic aspirations, along with his swimming goals. He is exactly the type of person and swimmer that we want here. He will fit right in with our current group of people and will be able to achieve great things here."
The Wolverines will lose eight seniors to graduation in 2010.
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
