BLACKSBURG – The 2009-10 Virginia Tech women’s swimming & diving signing class has been ranked 14th in the country by CollegeSwimming.com, one of the premier sites covering the sport.

“We are pleased to be recognized for our recruiting efforts,” said head coach Ned Skinner. “In particular, I want to thank our associate head coach Braden Holloway and head diving coach Ron Piemonte for their tireless efforts in assembling such a strong class.”

From the site:

“The Hokies recruited a double-digit class this year. For years head coach Ned Skinner has succeeded with a formula built around sprinting. He typically takes good athletes who aren’t overly polished or recruited. After a year or so of work he’s got them on relays that send other teams into fits. He’s not going to bedazzle recruits. He’s not going to sell parents on something they’re not. He even speaks with a little bit of pride when showing off the worst (and soon-to-be-replaced) facility in the ACC. Then he’s going to coach the heck out of them. This year’s group IS impressive though and moves away from a sprint-based approach. Meaghan Holloway and Becky Flora are big signees and with Keri Sink and Laura Simon move Virginia Tech away from the all-sprint approach. Addie Carne and Lindzi Smith ensure they don’t neglect sprinting altogether.”

In all, the H₂Okies signed 11 athletes to NLIs. They are: Meaghan Holloway, Laura Simon, Addie Carne, Keri Sink, Dana Kalnins, Katie Steeves, Sarah Ault, Sarah Moktari, Carissa Santora, Becky Flora and Lindzi Smith.