by Riley Bauling
Daily Lobo
The UNM swimming and diving team has 14 recruits, seven of whom are from Albuquerque.
First-year head coach Tracy Ljone said the influx of home-grown talent wasn't something she was expecting.
"It was kind of some nice surprises," she said.
Ljone said incoming freshman Blakely Stephens, an Albuquerque Academy graduate, was more of a water polo player than a swimmer. Stephens wanted to play water polo in college, but Ljone said she decided to stay in Albuquerque and join UNM's swim team instead.
Stephens was third at the 2005 New Mexico State High School Championships in the 100-yard backstroke.
Ljone said Valley High School graduate Summer Abt is another Albuquerque native she was happy to land.
Abt placed in the top five every year of high school in the 100-yard freestyle at the State Championships. She also placed in the top three at the State Championships every year in the 200-yard individual medley.
Ljone said both Stephens and Abt will benefit from focusing on swimming for the whole year. While Stephens played water polo, Abt only swam during the high school season. Ljone said Abt hasn't swum year-round for three years. Ljone said most swimmers swim for club teams after their high school seasons are over.
Head diving coach Abel Sanchez said he is excited the diving team will have an Albuquerque touch.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The diving team has four recruits from Albuquerque and six in all. Sanchez said transfer Tiffany Blackstone from Northern Arizona University and walk-on Nicole Smith, who is coming to the team after an absence from competitive diving for three years, are two recruits who should make a noticeable impact next season.
Blackstone won the New Mexico State Diving Championship every year from 2002-2004.
Smith took time off from diving to coach at several Albuquerque high schools. Sanchez said Smith dove well in high school, but initially didn't want to dive in college.
After helping Sanchez coach his diving club team in the offseason, Smith changed her mind and decided to join UNM's team.
Besides Abt and Stephens, Ljone said she was also particularly happy to land transfer Cassidy Lespreance, Canadian Katrina McLoughlin and Tulsa, Okla., native Kristen Naber.
She said McLoughlin and Naber are the two freshman that have the potential to score points for the team in the Mountain West Conference finals next year.
Ljone said Naber could be quite the treasure in years to come.
"I think Kristen will definitely be looking for some conference titles by the end of her career," Ljone said.
Lespreance transferred from the University of Louisiana-Monroe when it dropped its swim team three weeks before the end of the 2005 spring semester. Ljone said when she heard UL-Monroe dropped its team, she looked through the roster to see who was up to UNM's caliber. Ljone said Lespreance fit the mold she was looking for.
McLoughlin, a native of Nepean, Ontario, is a club teammate of UNM swimmer Andrea Zarins.
"I'm really excited," Ljone said. "I know all the girls from this past year. They're excited for a new outlook. It's going to be really fun."
