NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma Head Rowing Coach Leeanne Crain announced the signing of four athletes to National Letters of Intent on Friday, Nov. 11, for the 2012-2013 season. The coaching staff landed four of the country's best prep talent from top programs across the country, including Allison Kwiecinski from Phoenix, Ariz., Taylor Gillespie from Buffalo, N.Y., Jessica Hogan from Egg Harbor Township, N.J. and Dianna Polley from River Forest, Ill.

"This is an exceptional group and we are excited to welcome them to the Sooner Family," Head Coach Leeanne Crain said. "Jess, Dianna, Taylor, and Allison each bring experience and talent that will impact our program in a very positive way. We look forward to continuing to develop their skills so that they can reach their potential as Division I student-athletes. All of them have demonstrated a strong commitment to academics and athletics and are a perfect fit for our program."

The four members of the 2012 signing class will join a team next fall that is coming off a first-place varsity eight win at the Newport Autumn Rowing Festival in Newport, Calif. The team also placed first in the varsity open eight event at the Head of the Marina in Marina Del Rey, Calif., and the varsity open fours swept the top four spots at the Head of the Colorado in Austin, Texas. The fall season was highlighted by wins over Stanford and UCLA in the varsity eight.

Kwiecinski is a member of Tempe Junior Crew, home club of current Sooner rowers Rebecca Staff and Meghan Farrell. Kwiecinksi's career thus far included multiple wins in the single, double and quad. Just last weekend, her club placed first in the junior double at the Head of the Marina, where the 2011 Sooners were also in action. She currently attends Desert Vista High School in Phoenix.

Gillespie, who is a member of the West Side Rowing Club in Buffalo, N.Y., has six first-place finishes since 2009. Last spring, Gillespie recorded a top-25 finish in the 226-compeitior field at the CRASH B Indoor Rowing Championship. At the 2011 New York State Championship in Saratoga, N.Y., she placed third in the women's senior open four. This past summer Taylor was selected and served as a Page for the U.S. House of Representative in Washington D.C. She has been rowing competitively for six years and currently attends high school at The Park School of Buffalo.

Hogan, a coxswain, from Egg Harbor Township, N.J., has four years of experience at Holy Spirit High School. Her high school career has included three gold medals, including her latest one at the Atlantic County High School Championships in New Jersey. She was also a silver medallist at the SRAA Championship and Stotesbury Cup Regatta in 2010 and received a silver medal at the Garden State Regatta in New Jersey earlier this year.

Polley is co-captain of her Lincoln Park Junior Rowing Club in Chicago, Ill. She helped lead her squad to a third-place finish at the Windermere Cup in 2011 and first place at the Head of the Rock as well as the Milwaukee River Challenge in 2010. She has five years of rowing experience and attends Oak Park River Forest High School.

"I am very excited to have helped Coach Crain bring in this recruiting class," Oklahoma assistant coach John Gartin said. "We are both impressed and eager to work with these student-athletes next year. Jess, Dianna, Taylor and Allison are already very accomplished and they are clearly going to develop and become even faster over their time here at Oklahoma. In addition to speed on the water they are certainly going to add to an already amazing campus and scholastic atmosphere here at OU."