Dec. 19, 2003
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame women’s swimming coach Bailey Weathers and head diving coach Caiming Xie announced today the signings of Caroline Johnson, Katie Hopkins, Raine Paulson-Andrews and Laura Rings to National Letters of Intent. All four student-athletes will join the Irish roster for the 2004-05 season.
Hopkins, from Ellicott City, Md., was named all-Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland in 2001, and was a National Catholic Champion at Notre Dame Preparatory School. For her efforts, Hopkins was named the Baltimore Sun Athlete of the Year last season. Swimming the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 200 butterfly, Hopkins has a best-time of 2:17.33 in the 200-yard breaststroke. That time would be an “A” time for the 2004 BIG EAST meet and a provisional qualifier for this year’s NCAA Championships. She also swims as part of the Loyola Blakefield Aquatics Swim Club.
A member of the National Spanish Honor Society, Hopkins is the daughter of Jane Hopkins-Nordhoff, the late John Hopkins and Eric Nordhoff. She is one of four children.
Johnson, from Springfield, Mo., is an eight-time high school All-American in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams at Glendale High School. Swimming the butterfly, backstroke and freestyle events, Johnson is the Missouri state recordholder in the 50- and 100-freestyle events and is a four-time Missouri state champion while swimming for Springfield Aquatics. In 2002, she earned Missouri Swimmer of the Year accolades and was the National Club Swimming Association’s Junior National Champion in the 50-meter backstroke. She also qualified for the US Open Championships in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke.
A member of the National Honor Society, World Language Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, as well as the advanced and chamber choirs, Johnson is one of two children for Drue and Bonnie Johnson. Her father was the first men’s golf All-American at the University of Arizona.
Paulson-Andrews is from Montego Bay, Jamaica, and attends Gulliver Preparatory in Miami, Fla., where she swims the sprint freestyle and individual medley events. A member of the Jamaican National Team since the age of 11 where she trained at Doctors Cave Beach, Paulson-Andrews has won many gold and silver medals at the Carifta Games, the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC) and the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Confederation Games (CCCAN). In 2003, she won the gold in the 50 freestyle at the CCCAN. She also competed in the US Open and the Pan American Games in 2003.
At Gulliver Prep, Paulson-Andrews has been named a first-team Miami-Dade All-Star the past four years and has won the Most Promising, Best All-Around and Most Valuable Swimmer Awards. She was also named All-American and all-state in 2003 as her relay team won the Florida 1A state championship.
A member of the French Club, Paulson-Andrews is an aspiring architect as her architecture projects have won awards every year at the all-Dade competition.
From Gahanna, Ohio, Rings is an all-state diver from The Columbus School for Girls. A member of the U.S. Elite Diving Academy, she is a three-time all-state honoree and won All-America honors in2003. She earned most valuable player honors and set the school record in diving last season. As a junior, Rings was fifth at the Ohio state diving meet, after placing seventh as a freshman and sixth as a sophomore. A two-time captain, Rings also competed at the 2003 US Senior Nationals where she placed 13th in the synchronized three-meter diving event. She also was ninth on the three-meter board at the Zone A Summer Championships in 2003.
The daughter of Robert “Skip” and Therese Rings, Laura was a nationally-ranked level 10 gymnast until 1999 when she took up diving. Through her gymnastics endeavors, she has traveled to the Czech Republic, England, Bermuda and Canada. She is a member of Youth to Youth and won the Head’s Cup Award as a junior.
“All four of these student-athletes bring a great deal of talent to our program,” Weathers said. “We are excited to have them join the Notre Dame swimming and diving program and look for all of them to be significant parts of the team in the future.”