Nov. 29, 2006

University of Dayton women's track and field coach Kandice Erwin announced the recent commitment of five prep standouts to the Flyer program on Tuesday.

Johanna Zaccari, Emily Overmyer, Pembroke Strickland, Lauren Fougerousse and Maureen Bulgrin each made formal commitments to the program by signing National Letters of Intent and will be eligible to join the Flyers beginning with the 2007-08 season.

"I'm really excited about this year's recruiting class," said Erwin. "These girls are not only a good fit for us athletically since they will help fill in some holes in our squad, but they are also top notch students. They are all very well rounded and should make an immediate impact on our program.

Zaccari won the 2006 Northeast Ohio Regional Championship and was the bronze medalist at the Ohio State Meet in the shot put. Overmyer is the St. Joseph Central Catholic school record holder in discus and twice threw 131 feet, three-inches during the 2006 season.

Strickland, a pole valuter, is another recruit who holds her school record. She placed 12th as a junior at the Ohio State Meet with a mark of 10 feet, six inches. In addition, the Flyers added a high jumper in Fougerousse who finished in fourth at the 2006 Ohio State Meet.

Bulgrin, a distance runner recruited by UD head women's cross country coach Ann Alyanak, placed 11th in the 2006 District II Ohio State Cross-Country Meet.

"We're looking forward to what they can contribute to the team, since that they have already seen much success in high school." Erwin said.

When Erwin was named UD's head coach nearly two years ago, one of her goals was to add to the team's depth without sacrificing athletic or academic performance. The 2007-08 class accomplishes that goal once again.

Coming off the largest recruiting class in the program's history, Erwin expects to add a few more future Flyers to the mix to help improve on last season's fourth place finish at the 2006 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championship.

"We are not finished with the recruiting class, and we'll look to sign a few more during the April signing period," said Erwin.

The Flyers open up the 2006-07 season at the Oiler Opener from the University of Findlay on Saturday.