Tweet

BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech men's swimming & diving team, led by head coach Ned Skinner, announced Thursday the spring class of seven swimmers for the 2009-2010 academic year. These athletes will join the three who signed with Tech in the fall.

Karl Botha, hailing from Great Britain, comes to the Hokies from the Millfield School. Botha, elected to the British 2012 Olympian Development Team, has excelled in international competition as well as national championships. National Champion in the 100 and 200 Butterfly events in 2007, Botha represented Britain in the 2007 European Youth Olympic Festival, earning a bronze medal in the 100 fly. He was a member of the England Team vs. Ireland, Wales and Scotland meet, breaking the 100 fly record. Botha reached the semifinals at the 2009 British Championships, which earned him a selection to the European Junior Championships this summer.

Top Times
50 FR: 20.20*
100 FR: 45.13*
100 FL: 47.91*
200 FL: 1:46.90*
*Times converted from LCM

Skinner on Botha: “Karl will be another great flyer to join our program and will keep our strong butterfly performances rolling. Being able to excel in both the 100 and 200 fly is something we haven’t had in some years. He will be a force in our conference out of the gates. We also believe Karl will add more firepower to our sprint free relays. We are happy to have Karl join us from overseas and Blacksburg will prove to be a great home away from home.”

Trevor Carr, hailing from Woodford, Va., joins Virginia Tech from the Rappahannock Rays Swim Team, coached by Bob Herlinger and James Monroe High School, coached by Laura Pinkerton. The 2009 Regional Swimmer of the Year, Carr was a multiple-time Junior National Qualifier. Trevor has been a leader for the Rays for many years, winning the team MVP award in both the 13-14 and 15-18 age groups.

Top Times
50 FR: 21.02
100 FR: 45.77
100 FL: 51.18

Skinner on Carr: “We are really excited to have Trevor join our program. Trevor really enjoyed his visit to Virginia Tech and his addition will really bolster our sprint freestyle lineup. We know he has a great journey ahead of him and are ready to watch his development continue in a Hokies cap.”

Michael Hallock comes to the Hokies from Oak Hill, Va., and Oakton High School, where he swims for Virginia High School Coach of the Year, Scott Tsuchitani. Hallock, a multiple-time High School All American, won the Virginia AAA state title and was recently named to the 2009 All-Beltway first team. Hallock was also named to the All Met first team named by The Washington Post. A Machine Aquatic record holder in the 100 backstroke and 200 freestyle, Hallack swims club under coaches Christian Doud and Daniel Jacobs. Hallock picked the Hokies over Virginia, South Carolina, and N.C. State.

Top Times
50 FR: 21.44
100 FR: 45.90
200 FR: 1:40.58
100 BK: 50.23

Skinner on Hallock: “Michael is a fine young man who is proving to be a diamond in the rough. I feel he has not even reached a glimpse of what he is capable of achieving in this sport and I am glad he will be wearing a Hokies cap next fall.”

Alex Lutterbein, a native of Manakin-Sabot, Va., comes to Virginia Tech from the Collegiate School and excels in the individual medley, distance freestyle and backstroke events. Lutterbein has earned multiple All-America honors in high school and was also a part of a Junior National Championship Team. Swimming under Coaches Geoff Brown and Brent St. Pierre at NOVA, Lutterbein is a multiple junior national qualifier and placed as runner up in the 400 IM this past spring. A World Championship Trial Qualifier, Lutterbein chose the Hokies over Maryland.

Top Times
400 IM: 3:54.04
200 BK: 1:51.89
500 FR: 4:37.39
1000 FR: 9:20.39

Skinner of Lutterbein: “Having Alex join our program excites us tremendously. Alex will immediately impact the Hokies in the 400 individual medley and will add depth in the distance freestyle events. With Alex’s excellent training background, we feel he will be able to specialize further in all strokes and become a major conference threat.”

Greg Mahon, is from Medford, N.J., and attends Saint Joseph’s Prep where he was a scholar athlete. Mahon also swims for South Jersey Aquatic Club, an affiliation with YMCA of Burlington County, coached by Pete Holcroft and Greg Barone. Having been a multiple-time finalist at the YMCA Championships, Mahon ended his high school career by winning the 200 IM and 100 FLY at the PIAA Swimming Championships in record times (the 100 fly record stood for 20 years before being broken). A national qualifier, Mahon chose the Hokies over Maryland, Florida State, Penn State and Southern California.

Top Times
50 FR: 21.14
100 FR: 46.03
200 FR: 1:42.33
100 FLY: 48.13
200 FLY: 1:50.54
100 BK: 49.69
200 BK: 1:49.24
200 IM: 1:48.31
400 IM: 4:02.25

Skinner on Mahon: “Greg becomes our latest member of the Hokies and we are thrilled he decided to join our program. Coming in as an immediate threat to the conference, Greg’s speed will play an immediate role in the medley relays as well as the individual events. With the departure of senior Ian deToll, Greg steps into a great opportunity to be a leader for us in the 100 fly and joins a young group to lead us in the 200 IM. We feel Greg is just starting to hit his stride and the best is yet to come.”

Ben Munster, hailing from College Station, Texas, joins the Hokies from A&M Consolidated, under the guidance of head coach Ryan Goodwyn and Aggie Swim Club, where he trains under Master’s World Record Holder, Henry Clark. A Junior National Qualifier, Munster also excelled in the classroom at A&M Consolidated, earning many academic accolades in various AP courses. A member of the 2009 TISCA All-State Team, Munster helped his team earn a top 15 finish. Munster chose the Hokies over Texas A&M.

Top Times
500 FR: 4:37.71
1000 FR: 9:30.99
1650 FR: 16:06.65

Skinner on Munster: “Having Ben join the Hokie Nation is great. He is a highly motivated individual who drives off of hard work. He will join a deep distance free group ready to take another step. After the graduation of team captain, Ben Miller, we wanted to bring someone in who showed leadership qualities and feeds off of training hard. We felt Ben fit that role very well and are excited to see him sprout in college!”

Mason Wilcox, from Newport News, Va., swims for Coast Guard Blue Dolphins. A student at Menchville High School, Wilcox is a multiple-time junior national qualifier and high school finalist. Wilcox leaves his high school career holding the top four times in the 200 freestyle in the Peninsula Region. As a multiple-time record holder for the Blue Dolphins, Mason also is a part of three Virginia relay state records. Wilcox committed to Virginia Tech over Maryland and South Carolina.

Top Times
100 FR: 46.44*
200 FR: 1:43.09
100 FLY: 48.78*
*denotes a converted time from LCM

Skinner on Wilcox: “We are very happy to have this true Hokie join our program. Mason is one who already bleeds maroon and orange and is ready to don the H₂Okie logo. Mason is a diamond in the rough and one we feel is on the verge of popping a crazy number. We look forward to having that moment in a Hokie cap!”

Botha, Lutterbein and Mahon signed National Letters of Intent while Munster, Wilcox, Carr and Hallock signed offers of admissions to Virginia Tech.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).