Jan. 4, 2007
COLUMBIA, Mo. - University of Missouri Head Swimming and Diving Coach Brian Hoffer has signed five high school student-athletes to national letters of intent to attend and compete for Mizzou, as announced today by Hoffer. The class will compete for the Tigers beginning in the fall of 2007.
Included in the group are standouts Melissa Jamerson (Jacksonville, Fla.), Morgan McCleery (Celina, Texas), Anastasia Sotiropoulos (Buena Park, Calif.), Francie Szostak (Northbrook, Ill.) and Abby Zepeda (Scottsdale, Ariz.).
"We are very pleased with these outstanding young women choosing to swim and dive at Mizzou," said Hoffer. "All of these young women are very focused on academics and making Mizzou Swimming and Diving one of the best programs in the country. We look forward to having them join our team in the fall," he said.
The Tiger women's team, currently 6-1 this season and ranked 24th in the national polls, will return to action on Friday, Jan. 12th, when they host Missouri State at the Mizzou Aquatic Center at 6 p.m. The meet will also feature the Mizzou men (currently 5-1 and receiving votes in the polls) taking on the Bears, as well.
Following are brief biographical sketches of the recruiting class...
MELISSA JAMERSON (Jacksonville, Fla.) - A butterfly stroke specialist, Jamerson has career bests of 57.71 in the 100 fly and 2:02.38 in the 200 fly, and swims for the Bolles Sharks for Coach Rick Bishop ... Brian Hoffer SAYS - "Melissa is the fastest 200 butterflyer we've ever signed here. She comes from a great club and high school program and she's an extremely hard worker. In addition to being very solid in butterfly, she is also going to help us in some other events."
MORGAN McCLEERY (Celina, Texas) - A breaststroke specialist, McCleery has career bests of 1:05.48 in the 100 breast and 2:20.61 in the 200 breast and swims for the City of Plano for Coach Steve Mateer ... Brian Hoffer SAYS - "Morgan is a very talented athlete and a great person with a lot of energy. In high school, she split her time between cross country and swimming and was very successful in both. We really look forward to her concentrating her athletic efforts 100 percent on swimming here at Mizzou."
ANASTASIA SOTIROPOULOS (Buena Park, Calif.) - An accomplished swimmer at a variety of distance strokes, Sotiropoulos has career bests of 4:57.63 in the 500 freestyle, 2:21.56 in the 200 breaststroke, 2:05.39 in the 200 butterfly, 2:07.99 in the 200 individual medley and 4:27.62 in the 400 individual medley and swims for Irvine Nova for Coach Jeri Marshburn ... Brian Hoffer SAYS - "Anastasia is versatility personified. She will step in right away and help us out in five-plus events. Anastasia is a California person who will feel at home here in the Midwest."
FRANCIE SZOSTAK (Northbrook, Ill.) - A freestyle specialist, Szostak has career bests of 23:93 in the 50 freestyle, 52.65 in the 100 free, 1:51.12 in the 200 free, and 4:57.62 in the 500 free, and swims for the Patriot Aquatics for Coach Karl Milkereit ... Brian Hoffer SAYS - "We're very excited that Francie decided to come to Mizzou. Francie is a great racer who will help us in the freestyle events and especially in our relays. Plus, she'll help ease the loss of current senior Shannon Hogan next year."
ABBY ZEPEDA (Scottsdale, Ariz.) - An accomplished diver who hails from Pinnacle High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., where she has placed second in the Arizona state 4A championships for the last two years, and has also qualified for last summer's Junior Olympic West National Championships in Pasadena, Calif. She is currently diving for Clavista Del Sol club team ... Jamie Sweeney SAYS - "Abby is going to make an immediate impact on our team next fall. She comes from a hard-working, down-to-business club team, which will make for an easy transition into our program."