Men's Swimming Signs 14 to National Letters of Intent
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 | Men's Swimming & Diving
University of Florida head swim coach Gregg Troy announced the signing of 14 athletes to national letters of intent Tuesday.
The men's team will be stacked with the addition of one Olympian, one Puerto Rican national team member, one Venezuelan national team member, one Peruvian, three Olympic Trials qualifiers, four high school or junior college national champions, seven state champions and five All-Americans. 12 of the incoming swimmers hail from the Sunshine State.
Emmanuel Crescimbeni (Holiday, Fla.), Rodion Davelaar (Jacksonville, Fla.), Austin Detra (Sarasota, Fla.), Tayler DuBrasky (Estero, Fla.), Alex Glover (Safety Harbor, Fla.), Roberto Gomez (Weston, Fla.) Jeff Halfacre (Gainesville, Fla.), Brian Howell (Cincinnati, Ohio), Jonathan Jordan (Tampa, Fla.), Robert Kennedy (Ft. Meyers, Fla.), Devon Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Raul Martinez (Maunabo, Puerto Rico), Jeffrey Raymond (Davie, Fla.), James Turner (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) have all signed letters of intent to swim for the Gators next season.
“The class is so deep and so good that it's hard to single out just one of them, they are all really good athletes,” said Troy. “We've addressed all of our needs, everything that we are losing to graduation is covered. All of the men are very good in every distance of the freestyles so we are lucky to be covered in that area.”
Crescimbeni joins a list of five athletes on the current Florida roster that have already made their respective home country's Olympic teams. Crescimbeni will be representing Peru at next summer's ultimate meet and is coming off an extremely productive summer that saw him finish ninth at the Pan Am's in the 200 butterfly and 13th in the 100 event of the same stroke. Crescimbeni is the current record holder in Peru for the senior 50 and 100-meter butterfly strokes and still has records standing in the 13-14 age group in the butterfly in both the 100 long and short course, as well as the 200-meter fly. This summer, Cresimbeni also turned in solid performances at the Fina World Championships, finishing 67th in the 100 fly and 74th in the 50 fly.
A two-time National Sportsman of the Year from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, Davelaar joins the Gators as a two-time Central and Caribbean record holder for his age group and a Netherlands Antilles record holder. The 14-time Netherlands Antilles age group record holder is also a two-time Florida state champion out of Jacksonville and has been awarded the Best Student-Athlete of the Year award twice at Radulphus College, Curacao. Davelaar is also the recipient of the 2008 Olympic Scholarship from the International Olympic Committee.
Detra adds yet another Olympic Trials qualifier to the list for Florida this season. Detra was the YMCA national champion in the 500 and 1,650-meter freestyle and also claimed the Florida state championship in the 200 and 500-yard free. He was a fourth place finisher at junior nationals to qualify for the trials.
DuBrasky is a junior national finalist in the distance free events and will add depth to the area next year with the loss of senior Tobias Work (Falmouth, Mass.). The Estero High School senior is the Florida state champion in the 500-yard free and is will attempt to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the distance free events. DuBrasky is coached by Don Henshaw on the Gulf Coast Swim Team out of Ft. Meyers.
The 2007 Pinellas County Swimmer of the Year, Glover will bring with him to Gainesville a wealth of high school accomplishments. Glover was the 2007 Florida class 3A state champion in the 100-yard fly. He received All-American status for his performance in that event and also in the 100-yard freestyle, while also receiving All-American consideration in the 50-yard free. Glover is the Palm Harbor University High School record holder in four individual events and as part of three relays. He was named All-County in the 50 and 100-yard free and 100-yard fly.
Gomez, a member of the Venezuelan National team, was a gold medalist at the CCCAN 2007. He will transfer to Florida from Indian River Community College where he was a member of the 2007 NJCAA national championship team and holds the IRCC record as part of the 800-yard freestyle relay team. Before arriving at IRCC, Gomez was an individual class 3A high school state champion in the 100-yard freestyle. Gomez is planning to major in Engineering.
Howell joins the list of Gators that will be in attendance at this summer's Olympic Trials, having qualified in the 200-meter individual medley. He is a member of the USA National Junior Team and was the 2007 Ohio state champion in the 200-yard IM. The NISCA All-American hails from the Cincinnati Marlins club, coached by Chris Wolford and will graduate from Archbishop Moeller High School.
Halfacre will join Troy's team as an All-American and state finalist in the 100-yard back and free events. Halfacre finished second in the back and sixth in the free event. He was named the 2006 Gainesville Sun Swimmer of the Year after finishing third in the 100 back and fifth in the 100 free at the state meet. This past summer, Halfacre competed at the August Zones in Houston, Texas and brought home a first place finish in the 100 back.
Jordan comes to Florida by way of Tampa, Florida, as a four-time high school All-American. The soon-to-be Gator is just starting to make a name for himself on the national and international scene, finishing 15th in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2007 Summer Junior Nationals, where he also turned in a 16th place finish in the 400-meter free. Jordan holds senior national qualifying times in both events. The Berkeley Preparatory School's Male Athlete of the Year last year, Jordan holds two Berkeley Prep records in the 200 and 500-yard free.
A junior national-finalist from Ft. Meyers, Florida, Kennedy is the Florida State Champion in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breast, events that he holds both records in. Kennedy is the three-time Ft. Meyers News Press Swimmer of the Year and shares a common thread to Florida through his sister Katie, who swam for the Gators from 2001-04.
Lochte will follow in his older brother Ryan's footsteps and bring with him to Gainesville two first place finishes at the Five Star Championships. Lochte took first in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events. Lochte went on to swim as a finalist in the 200 free at the state meet.
A transfer from IRCC, Martinez is a member of the Puerto Rican national team and was a gold medalist at the CCCAW 2007, winning the 200 and 400-meter freestyle events. He is an NJCAA national champion and record holder as a member of the 800-meter free relay team, holding both the IRCC and NJCAA record for the event.
The 2007 Sun-Sentinel Swimmer of the Year, Raymond is a three-time FHSAA state champion. He will bring to Gainesville an extensive background in international swimming, having already qualified for next summer's Olympic Trials and finishing in the top five in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2007 Junior Nationals meet. Raymond was a 2005 U.S. Open finalist as well as a junior national champion in 2004. Raymond currently trains at Pine Crest under Coach Jay Fitzgerald and is a member of the National Junior team.
Turner, out of Ft. Pierce, Florida, is the reigning state champion in the 100-yard free, having won the event earlier this fall at the state meet. He also finished fourth in the 50-yard free to earn All-American status in both events.
The Florida men currently stand at 5-1 on the season and hold a 2-0 record in the Southeastern Conference. The Gators will look to wrap up their fall season this weekend as half the team will appear at U.S. Short Course Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia, with the remaining members swimming at the Alabama Invitational in Tuscaloosa. Florida's divers will appear at the Georgia Diving Invitational in Athens.
