Sept. 29, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State women's swimming and diving team will welcome six freshmen to its roster for the upcoming 2015-16 season.
The group includes two Pennsylvania natives, as diver Kelly Magri hails from Doylestown (Central Bucks), while Ally McHugh hails from Philadelphia (Little Flower Catholic).
Katrina Kuhn (Bishop George Ahr) is from Piscataway, New Jersey, while the rest have international ties. Machiko Raheem holds multiple national records in her native Sri Lanka. Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo joined Penn State senior Melissa Rodriguez at the Pan-Am Games this summer, as both competed for their native Mexico. Aleksandra Tulacz (Shrewsbury, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) was born in Poland.
Complete bios are below.
Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo
Mexico City, Mexico
German School Alexander von Humboldt
IM/Free
High School
Swam for German School Alexander von Humboldt and head coach Carlos Aldama ... Competed in the Mexican National Championships ... Placed second in qualifier for the 2015 Pan American Games.
Personal
Born in Mexico City, Mexico on Oct. 27, 1995 ... Parents are Miguel González-Hermosillo and Elke Holtz ... Has a sister, Nicole ... Uncle swam at Florida State ... Intends to major in economics.
Why Penn State?
"In Penn State I found the perfect balance between academics and swimming, and of course its incredible facilities, beautiful campus and outstanding coaching staff won me over."
Katrina Kuhn
Piscataway, N.J.
Bishop George Ahr
Free/Back/Fly
High School
Swam for Bishop George Ahr H.S. and head coach Amanda Miller ... Three-time Middlesex County Swimmer of the Year (2013-15) ... Helped team to county championships in 2012 and 2013 ... Served as team captain ... Participated in YMCA Short Course (2011-15) and Long Course (2012-15) Nationals ... Also participated in the 2013 Long Course and Short Course Junior Nationals ... Four-year letterwinner.
Personal
Born in New Brunswick, N.J. on Oct. 5, 1996 ... Parents are Paul and Kathleen Kuhn ... Has a brother, Mark ... Intended major is undecided.
Why Penn State?
"I chose Penn State because of all the opportunities it has to offer both academically and athletically."
Kelly Magri
Doylestown, Pa.
Central Bucks
Diving
High School
Dove for Central Bucks High School West for coach Fred Dunn and TNT Diving club for coaches Todd and Tarra Michael ... Earned all-conference and all-district recognition ... Placed 15th in the PIAA state championships for two consecutive years ... team captain and MVP ... four-year letterwinner ... Inducted into National Honor Society and Key Club.
Personal
Born in Doylestown, Pa. on April 19, 1997 ... Parents are Patrick and Annette Magri ... Has an older sister, Jessica.
Why Penn State?
"I chose Penn State because of the perfect balance between academics and athletics, the dedicated coaching staff, and the inspiring school spirit."
Ally McHugh
Philadelphia, Pa.
Little Flower Catholic
Breast/IM/Free
High School
Swam for Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls and head coach Sean Clothier ... 2016 U.S. Olympic Trial qualifier and participant in the 200 breaststroke and 200 IM ... Four-time PIAA State Championship qualifier in the 200 IM and 500 free ... Four-time first-team All-Catholic qualifier ... PIAA District 12 record holder in the 100 breast and 200 IM ... Holds 11 school records ... Three-time Scholastic All-America ... Named team MVP twice and was a senior captain ... Helped team to 2014 Philadelphia Catholic League Championship and PIAA District 12 Championship ... 2013 Summer Junior Nationals qualifier and participant in the 200 breast and 200 IM ... Took gold in the 200 breast and 400 IM and third in the 200 IM at the 2014 Summer NCSA Juniors.
Personal
Full name is Allyson Jane McHugh ... Born in Philadelphia on May 14, 1997 ... Parents are Michael and Andrea McHugh ... Has a sister, Kelley and a brother, Ryan ... Intends to major in kinesiology.
Why Penn State?
"I chose Penn State because of its excellent academic tradition, the beautiful campus, and the overwhelming friendliness from the swim team and coaches. I knew that Penn State would be the perfect fit for me, both academically and athletically."
Machiko Raheem
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Asian International School
Free/Fly
High School
Attended Asian International School and was coached by Manoj Abeysinghe ... Holds 16 Sri Lankan national records ... On long courses, holds the national records in the 50-, 100-, 200-, 400-meter freestyles, the 100- and 200-meter butterflies and the 200 IM ... On short courses, holds the records in the 50-, 100-, 200- and 400-meter frees, the 100- and 200-meter flies and the 200- and 400-meter IMs ... Competed at the Short Course and Long Course World Championships from 2012-2015 ... Competed in the Youth Asian Games in 2013 and the Youth Olympic Games in 2014 ... Also competed in the Arizona Grand Prix in 2014 ... Three-year team captain ... Also played netball and basketball.
Personal
Full name is Machiko Suharmee Raheem ... Born on January 13, 1996 in Colombo, Sri Lanka ... Parents are Ranjika and Ramzi ... Has two sisters, Mayumi and Kimiko ... sister, Mayumi, swam at the University of New South Wales ... Intends to major in psychology, then plans to go to law school to become a human rights lawyer for the UN.
Why Penn State?
"Penn State has a great swimming program as well as academic opportunities."
Aleksandra Tulacz
Shrewsbury, Mass.
Notre Dame Academy
Breast/Back/IM
High School
Attended Notre Dame Academy ... Swam for the Greenwood Swim Team and head coach Don Lemieux ... Participated in the Florida NASA Junior National Championship Cup in 2014 at 2015 ... Participated in Speedo Winter Junior Nationals in 2014 ... Member of Oxfam Club and was a Spirit Council Member.
Personal
Full name is Aleksandra Maria Tulacz ... Born on December 16, 1996 in Gdynia, Poland ... Parents are Kasia and J. Andrew Tulacz ... Intends to major in biology and minor in pre-med.
Why Penn State?
"I chose Penn State because it combines all the things I wanted in a university, such as a great education, a great swimming program, and the best alumni network."