June 4, 2009

Washington, D.C. - Georgetown University swimming & diving coach Steve Cartwright announced that 13 student-athletes have will join the Hoyas next season in the pool.

"This incoming class gives us greater depth and versatility as we try to position ourselves as a growing program in the BIG EAST Conference," Cartwright said. "All thirteen swimmers have the ability to step in and immediately contribute to help take this program to the next level. I am very happy to welcome them to our family and also excited to see how they develop both in the pool and in the classroom over the next four years here on the Hilltop."

Amy Ballanfant (Houston, Texas/M.B. Lamar)
"Amy knew Georgetown was where she wanted to be from the moment she set foot on campus. She will be an instant contributor both in dual meets and at the conference meet. Amy's sprinting ability will put her on several relays at BIG EAST as a freshman next season."

Amy lettered four years as a sprinter in swimming at M.B. Lamar High School and lettered one year in water polo. She captained the Lamar swim team one year and was named MVP twice (2006-07), all-state four times (2006-09) and All-American three times (2007-09). She holds the school records in the 200 and 400 free relays and earned Academic All-American honors in 2009.

Sarah Chiles (Norristown, Pa./Conestoga)
"Sarah will be instrumental in developing competitive BIG EAST relays as she will add serious depth to our sprint core."

Sarah was a varsity swimmer for four seasons at Conestoga High School and helped the team win the Central League Championship (2006-09) and a District 1 Championship (2008). She was named First Team All-Central League (2006-09), All-District (2007-08) and All-State (2007-08) while also being chosen as an All-American in the 400 freestyle relay in 2008 and 2009. Sarah is also one of the school-record holders at Conestoga in the 400 freestyle relay and graduated with Distinguished Honors and was a member of the National Honor Society.

Christina Costa (Tarrytown, N.Y./Irvington)
"Christina loves Georgetown more than anything and her attitude is contagious. Christina will be a major part of our mid-distance/distance and backstroke core this season. She will make her mark on the program very quickly. Christina comes in with a 200 back time that is already well below the current Hoya school record."

Christina was a varsity swimmer for five years at Irvington High School, captaining the Irvington swim team for one year. She was named a scholastic All-American from 2007-09, won the gold, silver and bronze medals at the Empire State Games (2005-07), named Irvington all-section, qualified for states (05-08), selected to the Journal News All-Star select first team (2007), named one of Rivertown's Enterprise Top 10 performers (2007) and won the Westchester County Board of Legislators Certificate of Athletic Achievement (2007). Christina also earned Academic All-high honors throughout high school and was named the valedictorian for the Class of 2009. Graduated cum laude, and was named to the National Society of High School Scholars.

Christina Daquila (New Providence, N.J./Pingry)
"Christina comes to Georgetown as another versatile swimmer. Christina will be adding depth and strength in our freestyle, backstroke and IM events. Christina is fun to be around and we're excited for her to make history here at Georgetown."

Christina lettered four years in swimming and water polo at Pingry High School. There she captained the Pingry water polo team for three years and won the 2009 NJ State Championship (500 free), the 2008-09 NJSIAA Prep State Championship (500 free), was named second team All-Somerset (200 free) and third team NJ All-Non Public (500 free) in swimming. Helped Pingry to the Colonial Hills Championship from 2007-09. Currently holds the Pingry school record for the 500 free and is a part of the 200 and 400 free relay record-setters, placing in the top 10 for six different events. She also earned high honor roll and AP scholar honors in high school.

Samantha Kietlinski (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley)
"Sam is exactly what the doctored ordered to help take our women's team to the next level. She is a very impressive athlete that is very versatile. She is expected to be a contributing member of our relays and her versatility will help us win many dual meets next season."

Samantha lettered two years in swimming at Hopewell Valley Central High School. She was named and All-American and is a two-time high point award winner while being named the most valuable swimmer in the county tournament. Currently holds five high- school event records, two county records (200 and 400 free) and finished third and seventh in the NJ state championship qualifier. She was also a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society.

Colleen McClintock (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional)
"Colleen bleeds Blue & Gray in all that she does. Providing more depth to our ladies sprint core, Colleen did a magnificent job in returning to the pool after a freak accident and still continued swimming fast, posting lifetime best performances. We are very excited to have her on the team."

Colleen lettered four years in swimming and participated in crew (2006) and track (2007) at Mainland Regional High School. There she captained the Mainland Regional swimming team her junior and senior years and was named swimming MVP. Placed in the top 16 in New Jersey (200 IM, 100 breast, 50 free and 100 fly) in 2007 and 2009 and won the 200 free relay at NJ State Meet of Champions. Was named an All-American and was a sectional qualifier for the 50 free, 100 fly, and 100 breast. Was named all-conference from 2007-09. Currently a school record holder and was a South Jersey Swimming Scholar Athlete. She helped Mainland Regional to a conference championship in 2006 and a district championship in 2008. She was named to the national honor society and the honor roll while also being an AP Scholar and a National Merit Scholar.

Brad Murray (Saratoga, Calif./Saratoga)
"Brad is a fountain of untapped potential that will provide some much needed depth in the mid-distance and distance free events. He will make an immediate impact into our distance group."

Brad lettered four years in swimming and two years in water polo at Saratoga High School. Captained the swimming team his senior year at Saratoga. Named a USA Swimming Scholastic All American from 2007-08. He helped the Saratoga swimming team to second place at the High School Section Championships in 2009 and first place in the 2009 Spring Nationals. Brad earned USA swimming scholastic All-American honors from 2007-08.

Lisa Pazzi (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline)
"Lisa is a wonderful young lady who I believe has a lot of room for improvement. She will be an incredible addition to our group of mid and distance freestylers."

Lisa lettered two years in swimming at Skyline High School. Placed third in the 200 free, third in the 500 free, was part of a second place finish in the 200 free relay and first place in the 400 free relay (2007-08). Lisa placed fourth in the 200 freestyle at the 5A State Swimming Meet, third in the 500 freestyle, second in the 200 freestyle relay, and first in the entire meet (2006-07). Helped Skyline to the 5A state championship her junior and senior years. She was named an AP Scholar with an Honor Award, member of the National Honor Society and the High Honor Roll and an NFL All-American.

Michelle Pliskin (Long Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson)
"Michelle is a great girl. A very strong a versatile swimmer, Michelle will add to the depth and talent of our team in the distance freestyle, breaststroke and IM. Michelle is really excited to have a distance group to train with; this young lady has done remarkable things in her distance events without focusing on it in her training."

Michelle lettered four years in swimming at Adlai E. Stevenson High School. Won the Lake County 400 freestyle relay championship, sectional 400 freestyle relay championship, 500 freestyle sectional runner-up, named All-Lake Shore first team 400 freestyle relay and selected to the 2008 Great Northwest Swim Team. Michelle helped Adlai E. Stevenson to the 2007 Lake County Championship, 2007-08 conference championship and 2007-08 sectional championship. She was a member of the National Honor Society, Tri-M Honor Society, Gold Honor Roll and the National Society of High School Scholars.

Paul Quincy (San Ramon, Calif./California)
"Paul comes to Georgetown being one of the best distance swimmers ever to don the Blue & Gray. We will look to him to immediately make an impact into the BIG EAST Conference in the mid and distance free events."

Paul lettered four years in swimming and three years in water polo at California High School. Captained the California swimming and water polo teams his senior year. Named SRVLA Swimmer of the Year in 2007, California High School Most Valuable Swimmer for 2008-09, High School All-American 2008, and the USA Swimming Scholastic All-American Team from 2007-09. Was undefeated in East Bay Athletic League competition and won the 500 free and the 100 back at the league championships in 2008 and 2009. He also won the 500 at North Coast Sectionals with an All-American time in the 500 free in 2009.Earned scholar athlete honors all four years of high school.

Alexander Robinson (Goldsboro, N.C./Eastern Wayne)
"Alexander is a very passionate young man. Bleeding the Blue & Gray from the first time I spoke with him, he will do nothing but add to the strength and depth of our distance team."

Alexander lettered four years in swimming at Eastern Wayne High School. He was named a NISCA Academic All-American and YMCA All-American in the 1500 and 800 free. Was an all conference champion throughout high school and won second place in the 3A high school regional his junior and senior years. Helped Pingry to the Colonial Hills Championship from 2007-09. Currently holds the Eastern Wayne record in the 500 free, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay and 200 free relay. Earned National Merit Award honors, member of the National Honor Society and winner of the Junior Marshall Who's who among American award.

Dasha Ryaboshapka (Clyde Hill, Wa./Bellevue)
"Dasha also is a young lady that has a lot of untapped potential. Dasha will be adding to our sprinting core in the fall and certainly will be in a position to do nothing but get faster. Dasha will immediately compete for relay spots in the sprint events."

Dasha lettered four years in swimming and two years in track and field at Bellevue Senior High School. Captained the Bellevue swimming team her senior year. Won the most inspirational award in 2008 and most academic award from 2005-08. She helped Bellevue to the state championship in 2006. Finished fifth place in the 50 free in 2009, sixth place in 50 free in 2007 and top 16 in 100 free during 2006-07. Dasha earned high honor roll and AP scholar honors in high school while graduating in the top five percent of her class.

Ken Ryan (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill)
"As far as versatility goes, Ken is as good as they come. He will provide some added strength and depth to a lot of different areas on our men's team: sprint, mid-distance and backstroke."

Ken lettered four years in swimming and two years in lacrosse at Carrboro High School and Chapel Hill High School. Captained the Carrboro swimming team from 2007-09. He was named rookie of the year (2005-06), MVP (2007-09), all-conference (2005-09), 1A/2A MVP (2007-08) and NCHSAA Scholar Athlete (2007-09). Helped Chapel Hill to second place at 1A/2A state championships his senior year. He was undefeated individually his junior year and won the state championship in 50 free and 100 back in 2007-08 and in the 50 free in 2008-09. Ken is a member of the National Honor Society, a NCHSAA Scholar Athlete and a Wendy's High School Heisman state finalist.