Kansas Swimming and Diving Signs Four for 2011-12 Season

Nov. 17, 2010

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Kansas head swimming coach Clark Campbell announced the signing of four new student-athletes for the 2011-12 season. Vanessa Hanbury (Coquitlam, British Columbia), Deanna Marks (Plano, Texas), Caroline Patterson (Boulder, Colo.) and Rachel Snyder (Arvada, Co.) will swim for the Crimson and Blue next competitive season.

“This is a really solid class for our early signing period,” Campbell said. “I’m really happy with the work that Jen Fox, our assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, did. We’re really pleased and we can’t wait to have them on campus.”

Hanbury is a transfer from Indian River State College, where she was coached by Ryan Mallam and titled the 2010 NJCAA Swimmer of the Year. She will look to add depth to the sprint freestyle events.

Marks is a Senior Nationals Qualifier from Plano Senior High School. She swims for the City of Plano club team under the direction of club coach Steve Mateer. The Texas swimmer will be looking to compete in both butterfly and freestyle events.

Patterson swims at Fairview High School and for the Rally Sport Aquatic Club under club coach Grant Holicky. Her strength lies in the backstroke events, so she will hope to fill the void left when senior Iuliia Kuzhil graduates this spring.

Snyder is a U.S. Open Qualifier from Ralston Valley Senior High. She swims for the North Jeffco Swim Team under club coach Brett Stoyell. Snyder will look to add to the butterfly events next season.

Quotes from Kansas head coach Clark Campbell

On Vanessa Hanbury:
“Vanessa is going to come in and be a big boost to us right away, especially with Amanda (Maez) graduating. She’s going to make a lot of noise, not just in the Big 12, but at NCAAs as well.”

On Deanna Marks:
“We’ve really been working hard to get an athlete from the city of Plano swim team. (Club coach) Steve Mateer does a great job down there. Deanna has really improved a lot in her butterfly events, and she’s also a good middle distance freestyler. She will come in and help a lot with the Potter sisters (Alyssa and Brittany Potter) graduating to fill in the butterfly role.”

On Caroline Patterson:
“Caroline is a real diamond in the rough. She has only been year-round swimming since March 2010 and the first summer after full-time training, she qualified for Junior Nationals. The sky is the limit for her. She will be a big-time swimmer for us. We will have a big focus on developing her over the course of her career, but she has loads of potential and has not even begun to scratch the surface yet.”

On Rachel Snyder:
“Rachel had an awesome summer before her senior year. She’s rounding back into form and is ready for a good winter. She has a really good butterfly. I think her and Deanna will be really competitive in the butterfly events and add to an area that is already strong. I think one of those two athletes will be our school record holder in the 200-yard butterfly.”