FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The 2011-12 Nova Southeastern swimming and diving recruiting class has been released, as announced by head coach Hollie Bonewit-Cron. The Sharks are bringing in 11 women while adding six men to the defending Sunshine State Conference Championship team.

“With our inaugural season in the books, we are looking forward to building another successful year with both our incoming athletes and our returning athletes,” said Bonewit-Cron. “In an attempt to replace the attrition on our women's team last year, we made a strong effort to recruit athletes who were looking for a challenge both in the classroom and in the pool. Not only did we recruit from within the state, but also around the country.

“Our men's program will continue to build on our competitive environment with the addition of the incoming talent to our program. We have a mix of athletes who will bring in more depth to our team. I am looking forward to coaching this new class of swimmers to higher levels.”

On the women’s side, the class begins with Rebecca Bergen, a first-year swimmer out of Winnipeg, Canada. Bergen swam at University of Winnipeg Collegiate prep school where she was named the Student of Highest Distinction. Her highest athletic achievement coming into her collegiate career was being a Canadian Age Group National Championships qualifier. Bergen joins local star Linea Cutter, a former swimmer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS. There Cutter was an All-American and was on the Class 3A National Championship team in the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relay.

Emily Floria will be joining NSU after four years of swimming at Quince Orchard HS. Floria was a top swimmer for the Cougars where she still owns the school and county records in the breaststroke. She’ll be joined by Lauryn Howell of Clearwater, Fla. While swimming at Berkeley Prep School, Howell was named the MVP of her team after finishing 3rd in the 100-yard backstroke at the district championships.

Alexia Hynes will become a Shark after swimming at Notre Dame HS in New Brunswick, N.J. Hynes was the captain of her swim team as she led her squad to Nationals. Hynes was drawn to NSU because of its beautiful campus and the way she connected with the current swimmers. Joining her will be Emma Lawrenz, who comes to NSU from Coon Rapids, Minn. Lawrenz swam for Minnetonka HS and the Team Foxjet club team. With Team Foxjet, she was a Nationals participant in seven events over three seasons.

Coming to NSU will be in-state swimmer Jessica Rocheleau of Jacksonville, Fla. She swam for three years at Hickory HS where she excelled in the pool and in the classroom as a scholar athlete. Stephanie Shober will also make the trek down to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. from Phoenix, Ariz.. Like Rocheleau, Shober was a standout athlete and a model student at Desert Vista HS. Shober recorded over 400 hours of community service and had a community service scholarship award created in her name.

Arianna Sunyak is a Cleveland, Ohio native that will be joining this recruiting class. Sunyak was a team captain at Barron G. Collier HS where she competed at the state championship all four years there. Kelli Swanson comes to NSU from Palm Harbor University HS. There, Swanson was a standout competitor in the 100-yard free and 100-yard backstroke. Wrapping up the women’s recruiting class is Alix Tucci of St. Johns, Fla. Tucci attended Creekside HS where she was a star swimmer for four seasons.

On the men’s side, six swimmers will join a team looking to defend their conference championship. Leading off the class is Addison Cates of Port Charlotte, Fla. Cates was a strong swimmer who reached the national stage while competing for Charlotte HS and the Charlotte County Swim Team. Alongside him is Joey Geschke of Orlando, Fla. While competing at Ridgewood HS, Geschke earned conference and district championships in the 200-meter free and 100-meter backstroke.

Coming in from out of state is Austin Hill from Kansas City, Mo. At Nix HS, Hill was a team captain and accumulated seven all-state awards while competing in the 100, 200 and 500-meter freestyle. Hill will be joined by fellow Mo. native Grant Hunter. Hunter swam for four seasons at Rock Bridge Senior HS under head coach John Hamilton.

The recruiting class’ only transfer student is Oskar Nordstrand who comes in from Wayne State. The Stockholm, Sweden native earned 11 All-American honors while competing as a Warrior. Nordstrand recently competed in the Sweden National Meet where he placed second overall in the 400, 800, and 1600-meter freestyle events. Wrapping up the class is Broward County native Michael Zislin. A dual sport athlete at Cardinal Gibbons HS, Zislin earned the Broward County Athletic Association Championship in both the 100 and 200-meter free style.

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