Ranking the Classes (W): #5 Tennessee

That might have been an overstatement when Kredich made the comment last Fall, but by the time Spring signing was over, he’d lived up to those words and filled most of their needs.

One of those included making up for the loss of the second-most decorated swimmer in Lady Vol history, Michelle King. Lindsay Gendron and Alex Frasier are a step in the right direction. They’re no King, but they are the Illinois and Massachusetts state champs in the 100 freestyle.

If replacing King as UT’s biggest need, they had an even more challenging task finding replacements for breaststrokers Alex Barsanti and Jamie Saffer, after all the difference between a good and a great 100 freestyler might be a second, but the difference between good and great in the breaststrokes could be something on the order of three or more seconds. No worries here though as UT scored three of the top five breaststrokers available when it Molly Hannis out of Santa Rosa, California, in-state sensation Caroline Reeves, and Switzerland’s Mariana Ribi.

Ohio state record-holder Mary Kate McNellis rounds out an outstanding class that includes in-state signees Kennedy Higdon and Grace Anne Sanderson.