Abbey Holmes '16 Recruiting Profile

My name is Abbey Holmes, and I am 17 years old. I am one of Archbishop’s Spalding’s strongest student athletes with an interest in Graphic Design. Swimming has introduced me to great people and exposed me to larger meets with harder competition, which has driven me to grow as a person and swim faster times.  In the coming year, I wish to be a Senior Nationals-caliber swimmer or an Olympic Trialist, as I am already a Super Sectionals and NASA Junior Nationals qualifier.
For my academics, I have held a 3.65 GPA through my freshman, sophomore, and junior years, as well as being selected for the National and Tri-M Honors Societies. I was chosen for a mission trip to help with Habitat for Humanity in June 2014, and I have helped out at the Special Olympics at my local indoor pool in past years. I have also volunteered as a counselor for a summer camp in August.
My swimming began when I was seven in the summer. That following autumn season, I joined my year-round team, FAST (Fairland Aquatic Swim Team) and Coach Manga Dalizu. I have traveled with Potomac Valley to both the Eastern Zone LC Championships and the Eastern Zone SC Championships. I have also been to the Speedo Championship Series with my club team; once in Buffalo, NY in the summer and twice in Christiansburg, VA in the spring. I hold 33 records at my year-round club in various ages, mostly concentrated in the 13+ age groups. They are in a variety of strokes and distances, ranging from 50s and 100s to the1650/1500, both short course and long course. I also hold two records at my summer swim team, the Calverton Chargers and Coach Tony Murray, in the 50 breaststroke and the 50 butterfly.
 For my school, I have been a member of the varsity swim team since my freshman year. As a freshman, I  swam at the 2013 National Catholic Championships, placing 8th in 50 freestyle, 8th in 100 backstroke, 3rd in the 400 Freestyle Relay, and 1st in the 200 Medley relay, breaking a school record. I also swam in the 2013 IAAM Championships, swimming the breaststroke leg in the 200 A Medley Relay and placing 3rd, 7th in the 100 breaststroke and 8th in the 200 IM. As a sophomore, I swam at the 2014 East Coast Catholic Classic, placing 5th in the 50 freestyle and 10th in the 100 backstroke. I also swam in the 2014 IAAM Championships, placing 4th in both the 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM. This past 2015 IAAM Championship I finished 3rd in 200 IM and 3rd in 100 breast in the A Division. Currently, I hold two team records; the 200 medley and the 100 breaststroke.
I am a very outgoing person with a lot of optimism to share with my teammates in high school, year-round and one day, college. I hope to swim in college because I love my sport. I love what I’ve done through it, and I’ve loved the people I’ve been able to meet, the coaches I’ve been able to get feedback from, and the friends I’ve made.