Swimming and Diving signs world-class transfer

FAYETTEVILLE – Stephanie Carr signed a National Letter of Intent to swim for the University of Arkansas, Lady Razorback head coach Jeff Poppell announced this week. Carr, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, is a graduate of The Bolles School and swam the past two seasons at the University of Georgia. She helped the Bulldogs to a first-place finish at the 2006 SEC Swimming and Diving Championship, a second-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Championship and a national title in 2005. “We are very fortunate to have Stephanie joining us at the University of Arkansas,” said Poppell. “Having the opportunity to coach her for 12 years at The Bolles School, I can honestly say that she is probably one of the most driven and hardest working individuals that I have ever coached.” Carr earned honorable mention all-America honors the past two years in the 1650 freestyle. As a freshman, Carr finished ninth at the NCAA Championships with a time of 16:14.77, making her the highest finishing freshman in the 1650 freestyle. In the 500 freestyle Carr’s time of 4:45.56 put her in eighth place at the 2005 SEC Championships. This made her one of only two freshmen to finish in the top eight at the SEC Championships. Carr finished in 12th place in the 1650 freestyle at the 2006 NCAA Championships with a time of 16:22.99 and 13th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:45.21. Under the guidance of Poppell at The Bolles School, Carr was a four-time high school All-American and ranked No. 1 in the country as a senior. She was ranked 6th in the World in the 1500-meter free in 2004 and was a finalist in the 800-meter free at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. In that same year, she was the 18 & Under U.S. National Champion in the 1500-meter free at the Spring U.S. Nationals. Carr was also a member of the 2002 U.S. National Junior team that competed in Rome, Italy. “As one of the top distance freestyle swimmers in the world in 2004, a U.S. Olympic Trials Finalist, and a member of the University of Georgia’s NCAA Championship team in 2005, Stephanie will be able to provide valuable leadership and experience to this up and coming Arkansas team,” Poppell said. Carr is the daughter of Danny and Beth Carr and has an older sister, Brooke, who was a swimmer at IUPUI and also coached at Butler. For more information about Arkansas swimming and diving, log onto LADYBACKS.COM.