ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland swimming and diving head coach Pete Hovland announced Thursday the addition of nine student-athletes during the spring signing period, giving the Golden Grizzlies 14 newcomers for the 2014-15 campaign.
Brant Cassidy, Marcin Lowicki and Zach Rentner join the men’s squad while Arynn de Leeuw, Emily Flowers, Stormy Malarik, Cassie Misiewicz, Holly Morren and Mary Pilibosian for the women are committed to enroll at Oakland University and join the swimming and diving team for the 2014-15 season. They join five early signees to solidify the incoming class.
“All of our signees are outstanding students and almost all of them competed on highly successful high school or club swimming programs,” Hovland said. “They will know what our expectations are and they should all fit in nicely with our team.”
As a group, five hail from the state of Michigan. Hovland also reached out and earned commitments from three international standouts who have all competed at the national level in their respective countries.
| Name | Height |
Events | Hometown | Previous School | Club |
Student-Athlete Highlights |
| Brant Cassidy | 6-1 | Sprint Free | Fenton, Mich. | Fenton HS | — | Flint Metro League record holder in 50 and 100 free, was also MHSAA Division II finalist in both events Eight-time First Team All-Flint Metro League |
| Marcin Lowicki | 6-0 | Free | Skierniewice, Poland | — | Polish National Team | Was a medalist for the Polish Junior National team Finalist for Polish Senior Nationals |
| Zach Rentner | 6-0 | Free | Tinley Park, Ill. | Victor J. Andrew HS | North Aquatics | Conference champion and varsity record holder in 500 free Three-time IHSA State qualifier |
What Hovland has to say:
Hovland on Brant Cassidy: “Brant comes highly recommended by the coaching staff at Fenton High School and his progression the past three years has been very impressive. With continued improvement, Brant can play a major role in our quest to win another Horizon League Championship.”
Hovland on Marcin Lowicki: “We are real excited about signing Marcin. Obviously, he is extremely talented and fortunately for us he also fills a need with the graduation of key swimmers.His times in the freestyle events (100 – 1650) would all score top three at the Horizon League Championships. He could also play a major role on our freestyle relays.”
Hovland on Zach Rentner:”Zach showed a lot of interest in Oakland over the past year.We’ve seen a tremendous amount of improvement during that time and we’re really excited about his potential. He’ll definitely help upgrade our middle distance freestyle events.”
| Name | Height |
Events | Hometown | Previous School | Club |
Student-Athlete Highlights |
| Arynn de Leeuw | 5-5 | Distance Free/IM/ Fly |
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | Vimy Ridge Academy | Olympian Swim Club | Named Rookie of the Meet at Canadian Female Summer Nationals Canadian Olympic Trial qualifier and finalist |
| Emily Flowers | 5-8 | Free/Back/Fly | St. Albert, Alberta, Canada | Paul Kane HS | Olympian Swim Club | Medalist at North American Challenge Cup, Western Canadian Summer Games and Canadian Summer Games Member of numerous Canadian Youth National Teams |
| Stormy Malarik | 5-8 | Sprint Free | Plymouth, Mich. | South Lyon | South Lyon Aquatics | Member of four consecutive KLAA Conference Champion teams High School All-American and High State finalist |
| Cassie Misiewicz | 5-7 | Free/Back/Fly/IM | Holland, Mich. | Holland HS | Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics | Three-time NISCA High School All-American CSCAA Rank: 13th in Michigan MHSAA All-State and 500 Free State Champion |
| Holly Morren | 5-6 | Sprint Free | Holland, Mich. | Holland HS | Byron Center | NISCA High School All-American and member of national record-setting medley relay Two-time MHSAA State Champion, All-State and six-time Junior National qualifier |
| Mary Pilibosian | 5-5 | IM/Back | Bloomfield Hills, Mich. | Bloomfield Hills | Motor City Aquatics | Michigan high school state champion in 200 IM Michigan Open champion in 400 IM Two-time Michigan state team champion |
What Hovland has to say:
Hovland on Arynn de Leeuw: “Arynn learned about OU after her teammate, friend and OU Signee (Emily Flowers) took her visit. It was a rather whirlwind process but fortunately she decided OU fit the profile she was looking for. She comes to us with times in the distance freestyle and IM events that would place her among the top eight at last season’s HL Championship.”
Hovland on Emily Flowers: “Emily is an outstanding talent and is going to play a major role in our program over the next four years. She’s also an outstanding student-athlete and made a very positive impression on her recruiting visit. Emily’s times will place her at the top or near the top of the Horizon League standings in a multiple number of events and could play a major role in all five of our relays.”
Hovland on Stormy Malarik: “Stormy is another piece to improving and upgrading our sprint freestyle group. Her progression over the past few years has been impressive and if she continues along that path she will become a valuable member to our conference team.”
Hovland on Cassie Misiewicz: “Cassie was our first female commitment this year and we could not have done any better. Cassie fits the OU profile to a tee. She’s not only outstanding in the pool but the classroom as well. She comes from a great program and she will fit in nicely with her new and old teammates alike. On top of that, she is extremely versatile and could swim and contribute immediately in just about every event at the Horizon League Championships.”
Hovland on Holly Morren: “Holly comes from one of the top high school and club programs in the country and she has been a mainstay in their championships and overall success the past four years. We’re extremely excited Holly has decided to join her older brother (Jeremiah) and some of her former high school and club teammates here at OU. Anytime you can sign a High School All-American and a member of a national record-setting relay, you know you’ve got a good one. She will have a major impact on our sprint group and will play a major role on our sprint free and sprint medley relays. We fully expect Holly to compete for conference titles in both the 50 and 100 freestyles all four years.”
Hovland on Mary Pilibosian:”Not unlike Emily and Cassie, Mary is another extremely versatile swimmer. She comes from a great background and has a lot of success both at the high school and club levels. She swims a number of events and distances with times that will score top eight at our conference championship meet. Academically she has been admitted to our Honors College. She’ll fit in perfectly.”
Comments are closed.