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FLAGSTAFF – The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team continued to add to their talent base with the announcement of four incoming freshmen who signed their National Letters of Intent last week for the upcoming 2015-15 season. Head coach Andy Johns and diving coach Nikki Huffman are proud to announce the additions of Raquel Gonzales, Ila Hughes, Andrea Schmidt and Amanda Sumrow, all of whom will enter the program as freshmen.
Gonzales is a diver from Chandler, Ariz. who brings an established background on platform in addition to her strengths on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards. She was her team’s Most Valuable Female Diver three years at Hamilton High School and was a three-time state qualifier. As a senior, she placed seventh at the state meet. She left as her school’s record holder in both the six-dive (216.0) and 11-dive sets (384.7), breaking her own school record she set as a junior. Gonzales qualified for the 2014 USA Diving Age Group National Championships representing her club team Sun Devil Divers in the 16-18 Girls Platform Junior Olympics placing 24th.
“We’re really excited to have Raquel up here,” Huffman said. “She qualified for Junior Olympic Nationals on platform and she is really strong on 1-meter and 3-meter. As infrequently as we get on platform, we can learn some dives but it’s hard to learn more difficult divers. So her experience makes a huge difference, similar to (former WAC platform champion) Gwen Smithberg who came in with platform experience and that really helped us out. Raquel can come right in and be right with some of our top divers.”
Hughes hails from Kodiak, Alaska where she swam for the Kodiak Kingfishers Swim Team with NAU sophomore Jori Lindquist for Lindquist’s father, John. Earlier this month, Hughes defended her state titles in the 50 and 100 freestyles with record breaking times of 23.20 and 50.51 respectively. As a junior, she also won the 200 freestyle state championship. The Kodiak High School product will surely contribute in the short distance sprint freestyle events for the Lumberjacks.
“Ila won the Alaska state championship in the 50 and 100 freestyle a few weeks ago,” Johns said. “She is a sprinter and we need some help in the sprint areas. She has family ties in Arizona and the common theme is her club connections. We’re excited for all three of our incoming swimmers who will all help us out. Ila is a great start, as are our other signees, to our recruiting class.”
Schmidt is from Missoula, Mont. and swam at Sentinel High School. She is the defending state champion in the 100 and 200 freestyles with times of 52.89 and 1:56.72 respectively. In the 200 freestyle race, she clinched the title by over eight seconds in a dominating win. A sprint freestyler that can also swim the butterfly events, Schmidt will fill the void of senior Alexis Juergens at the end of the season. Schmidt also competes with the Missoula Aquatic Club.
“Her club team continues to produce great swimmers and Andrea is no exception,” Johns said. “She is along the lines of Alexis Juergens, and Andrea had a good summer and a good long-course season. She felt at home here on her visit and is excited about coming to NAU. We’re excited to have someone from that area and that club team specifically and she is a good add for us.”
Sumrow comes to NAU from San Diego, Calif. from Patrick Henry High School. Last year, she won the 200 IM at the 2014 CIF San Diego High School Swimming and Diving Championships with a time of 2:05.57 after two runner-up finishes. She swam for the Heartland Swim Association and is club teammates with current NAU sophomore Sara Lenhoff. Sumrow is expected to swim both the 100 and 200 butterfly events for the Lumberjacks in addition to the 200 IM.
“Amanda is a great kid and a great student,” Johns said. “She is a versatile butterflier and IM-er and the thing we’re really excited about is that she had a really good long-course summer. She continues to get better and that’s great to see. It’s a great fit and we’re excited with what Amanda can do for us in the future.”
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