The Pioneer swim team has already received eight commitments for the 2012-2013 season, head coach Brian Schrader announced last week, including six women and two men.
On the men’s side, Andrew Torres and Dylan Bunch will be joining the Pioneers. Madeline Eyolfson, Kristyna Kolarova, Kristen Haeger, Zoe Huddleston, Morgan Mullenix and Tyra Rooney will join the women’s roster.
“This might be the best women’s recruiting class we have ever signed,” said Schrader. “We still expect to sign four to five more athletes by the end of the year, especially on the men’s side. Right now, we only have two men, and we want to have six to eight in every class.”
Andrew Torres, a 6-foot butterfly and freestyle specialist from Arvada, chose DU after an impressive high school career at Ralston Valley, where he was First Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-State in 2011.
“Andrew is one of the top-three butterfliers in his age group,” said Schrader. “He is competing on a high level at the national scene and I know that will continue here at DU. He is a great student and a fun person to be around. It’s also fun for us because he is a legacy, with his mother having done her undergrad here at DU.”
Joining Torres on the men’s roster is Dylan Bunch, a 6-foot-6 freestyle swimmer from Boulder City, Nev.
“Dylan is tall and still growing,” said Schrader. “He is going to impact our program immediately in the distance events.”
In looking for additions to the Pioneer swim team, Schrader said it is more about their style than about their current event times.
“You want to find kids who make it look easy, who make it look pretty,” said Schrader. “It means they’re efficient, when there’s less splashing and good kicks.”
On the women’s side, Madeline Eyolfson will join the Pioneers after earning USA Swimming All-American honors her sophomore, junior and senior years at Boise High School. Kristyna Kolarova, a Junior National Champion in the Czech Republic, will join Eyolfson in the breaststroke after swimming on the Czech National Team from 2008-2011.
“[Eyolfson] is exactly the kind of athlete that thrives in our program,” said Schrader. “And I think Kristyna may be the fastest we have ever signed coming in to our program.”
Kristen Haeger, also from Ralston Valley High School in Arvada, Morgan Mullenix, from St. Louis, and Tyra Rooney, from Calgary, Alberta, will all compete for the Pioneers in Freestyle events. Zoe Huddleton also brings experience from her time in Rothschild, Wisc., as a backstroke/freestyle specialist.
“We’re filling a niche,” said Schrader. “These kids are looking for a very high quality education and to be a part of a Division I program. They know we are sending people to nationals, and they know they can accomplish what they are looking for here.”
