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Web Helps Swimmer Net Scholarship
The Dayton Daily News Feature Story
Dec. 17, 2001
By Dave Lance YOU CAN FIND JUST ABOUT anything on the information superhighway. Going house hunting? Surf the Internet. Looking for a car? Hit the Internet. And if you're looking for an athletic scholarship, that's right, surf the Internet. Of course, you have to have some talent, like Samantha Wright, a senior on Dayton Christian High School's swim team. She signed a full scholarship with UNLV in November, thanks to www.fansonly.com. No one doubts Wright would have received a Division I ride had she proceeded like most blue-chip high-school athletes, waiting for colleges to approach them. After all, Wright is the Ohio Central Zone record holder in the 100 meter breaststroke and 200 breaststroke. She finished ninth at the state meet in the 100 breaststroke and eighth in the 200 individual medley. A school eventually would come knocking. But Wright reasoned that her chances of getting a full ride would be limited if she waited until the swim season was over to sign. "Sometimes when you sign early, they have more money to offer," Wright said. Looking to get a head-start on the recruiting process, Wright was told about www.fansonly.com by a friend. A Web site geared toward college sports fans, www.fansonly.com features the day's top stories and has links to your favorite team. If you click enough times, you'll find information on the college of your choice. Once that's done, you can click on the recruiting link, where a questionnaire can be filled out and sent to the school. After the school receives the form--filled with such pertinent information as school year, age, height, weight and athletic accomplishments--it sends the applicant another questionnaire. If the university likes what it reads, it sets up an official visit. Wright filled out the forms and visited UNLV earlier this season. So impressed with the campus, coaches, swimming facility and weather was Wright that she said she knew 30 minutes into the tour she'd sign with the school. Had it not been for www.fansonly.com, she might have ended up somewhere else. "She's in the (Midwest)," said Chris Hansen, UNLV's assistant swim coach and chief recruiter. "We didn't really know who she was until she filled out the form." There are other Web sites that help swimmers find schools, like www.swimrecruit.com and www.collegeswimming.com. Other sports, including football, have Web sites that help find potential recruits by having them fill out forms. "We do a lot of off-campus recruiting, but we do use that (Web site) also," Hansen said. "We go on and find kids we're interested in. Their address is on the questionnaire. It's hard to find home addresses sometimes. This is the easiest way to find out where they live and their phone number." Once UNLV tracked down Wright, the school was an easy sell. "Some colleges only have a women's team," said Michael Wright, Samantha's father. "But UNLV has a men's and women's team and she likes that. She trains with boys all the time because they make her go faster." Samantha has been fast for some time, qualifying for state as a freshman, but not placing. As a sophomore she finished sixth at state in the 100 breaststroke and seventh in the 200 IM. Her times fell off last season, but a bout with mono at the start of the season might have had something to do with that. "It affected my timing," Wright said. "I could practice from November to February only off and on and just a half hour." Now feeling fit, Wright said she'll have her biggest season yet. Then it's on to bigger things at UNLV, where Hansen expects her to compete for a starting spot as a freshman. She'll be helped by UNLV swimmer Madalina Tin, a Romania native who will be a senior next season. Tin, a national champion in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, has international experience, having competed in the Romania Olympic Trials. "Madalina will be able to help her," Hansen said. "I'm sure it's going to be a nice, friendly rivalry. We're losing a good class this year, so we'll be looking for freshmen to take over." The Vegas Strip, and all its hedonistic elements, is across the street from the campus. What's a nice girl from a parochial school doing at UNLV, you might ask. "Some of the teachers didn't want to say it up front," Wright said, "but they asked me, 'Are you sure that's where you want to go?'
"I love it there. The campus is beautiful and I love hot weather. When I got
the tour of the Thomas & Mack Center, it was just awesome."
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