May 31, 2001
Evanston, Ill. - Northwestern women's swimming and diving head coach Jimmy Tierney put the finishing touches on his 2001-02 recruiting class by penning Christy Olin (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) and Shuyan Phua (Singapore/Raffles Junior College). Both have signed National Letters of Intent and will join early signees Brielle Bovee (Winter Park, Fla./Corona Del Sol), Lesley Meade (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy), Rachel Tepe (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy), Lori Schwanhausser (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) and Paige Nath (Wichita, Kan./Trinity Academy) in the pool next season.
Olin will swim the butterfly and individual medley events, adding depth to an already stacked lineup. Highlighting her high school achievements, Olin placed first in the 100 and 200 fly at the YMCA National Championships this past spring. She also took second in the 100 fly at the Illinois State Championships and competed in the 2000 Olympic trials her senior year. Olin's personal best times include, 55.54 in 100 fly, 2:02.18 in 200 fly and 2:10.51 in 200 IM. "Christy has a lot of talent with great potential for improvement. She will help immediately in the 100 and 200 butterfly," said Tierney. "With Rachel Johnson and Merritt Adams, we now have one of the strongest fly groups in the country."
Phua will compete in the freestyle sprint races and relays for NU. While in high school she swam at the South East Asian Games twice (1997 & 1999), picking up three silver and three bronze medals. In 1998, she participated in the pre-Commonwealth Games, winning a gold and silver medal. Phua also holds the Singapore national record as a member of the 4x200m free relay team. Her personal best times include, 27.90 in 50 free, 59.78 in 100 free and 2.10.01 in 200 free. "Shuyan will provide the `Cats with more freestyle speed, an area that has been lacking in depth," said Tierney. "Hopefully she will contribute right away to our 200 and 400 free relays."