NEWARK, DE -- University of Delaware men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach John Hayman has announced a list of 20 high school recruits who will enroll at the University this coming fall and compete for the Blue Hens.

The group includes 13 men and 7 women with student-athletes coming from eight states - Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Connecticut.

The 13 men’s recruits include diver Ben Blotner of Bethesda, MD (Chevy Chase High School), freestyler/individual medley swimmer Michael Cancila of Broomall, PA (Cardinal O’Hara), sprint freestyler Grady Carter of Newark, DE (Newark), middle distance freestyler Scott Conklin of Naperville, IL (Nequa Valley), freestyle/butterfly specialist Brad Damtoft of Rochester, NY (Irondequoit), freestyler Taggart “T.K.” Foulke of Worcester, PA (Methacton), and diver Thomas Gallagher of Long Island, NY (Sachem).

Also, freestyler Sam Hunter of Barrington, RI (Barrington), distance freestyler Sam Mintz of Hillsborough, NJ (Hillsborough), freestyle/backstroke specialist Craig Offutt of Butler, MD (Hereford), diver Ben Otto of Glastonbury, CT (Glastonbury), breaststroker Matt Rathbun of Long Valley, NJ (Seton Hall Prep), and butterfly/sprint freestyler Matt Wilson of Macungie, PA (Emmaus).

The seven women’s recruits include distance freestyle Cecily Connell of Newark, DE (Newark), diver Gabrielle Di Pretoro of West Islip, NY (West Islip), diver Lisa Goyette of Manlius, NY (Fayetteville-Manlius), sprint freestyler Rachel Green of Gaithersburg, MD (Damascus), all-around specialist Jordan Hyman of Wilmington, DE (Padua), individual medley specialist Barbara McHale of Ridgefield, CT (Ridgefield), and sprint freestyler Heather Shultz of Emmaus, PA (Emmaus).

Both Delaware teams are coming off successful seasons. The Delaware women posted a dual record of 11-2 and placed fifth at the Colonial Athletic Association championships while the Blue Hen men went just 4-8 in dual meet action but posted their best finish in the CAA championship meet since joining the league in 2001-02 with an eighth place finish.

“This incoming freshman class is a very impressive group of swimmers and divers,” said Hayman, who recently completed his 17th season as head coach. “We were fortunate enough to fill many of our open spots with some talented athletes that include state champions and USS National qualifiers as well as several YMCA national finalists. We will be graduating only three swimmers (one woman and two men) this year so this incoming class should strengthen our team for another great season next year as well as for years to come.”