Swimming And Diving Holds Annual Awards Banquet

April 16, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass men's and women's swimming and diving teams celebrated their successful seasons last week with their annual team awards banquet, honoring its top performers for the season. The men's team celebrated their 12th Atlantic 10 title, while the women finished third overall in the conference.

The Minutewomen handed out six awards, honoring five different athletes overall. Freshman Michaela Butler earned the Most Improved award, showing great progress throughout the year, ending the season with a second-place finish in the three-meter dive at the A-10 Championships. Sophomore Sarah Arnott was given the team's Spike Award, for her hard work and effort throughout the season, while freshman Amina Meho was given the Rookie of the Year award for her tremendous performances this season, including breaking the school record in the 50 free with a time of 23.55. The Coaches Award was given to senior Joan Baltazar, whose attitude and leadership was reflected in the team's performance all year long.

Senior Elizabeth Walsh was honored with two awards, as she was named the squad's Minuteman Award Recipient as the athlete who consistently displayed attitude, effort, and enthusiasm above and beyond the call of duty. Walsh was also named the team's MVP, leading the team all season, including three individual top-16 finishes at the A-10 Championships. The Marshfield, Mass. native will finish her career with the school record in the 100 back while also ranking third in both the 200 free and 200 back.

The men's team handed out eight awards, honoring ten different athletes on the evening. Seniors Andrew Willbrant and Juan Moliere were named co-MVPs, after helping to lead the team to their fourth-straight A-10 title. Willbrant was the top performer at the A-10 Championships, winning three individual gold medals including his fourth in-a-row in the 100 back. Moliere won a gold medal in the 50 free at the A-10 Championships, while grabbing the silver in the 100 free with a personal best time of 45.23 to place him third on the UMass all-time list. Sophomore Kyle Jennings was named the team's Most Improved performer, making great strides throughout the season, while also earning the team's Coaches Award along with junior Trevor Ziegler. The S.T.U.D award, which stands for So Tough You'd Die, went to sophomore Joey Sbordon. The award goes to the athlete who consistently demonstrated, hard work.

Sophomore Jason Cook earned the Diver Dude award, putting together yet another great season, earning his second-straight bid to the NCAA tournament. Cook won both the one and three meter diving events at the A-10 Championship for the second-straight time. Junior Dan Backler received the team's Iron Man award as voted on by the coaches, while freshman Jorge Fortin was named Rookie of the Year. A full list of the awards from the banquet can be seen below.

Men's Awards
MVP
Andrew Willbrant
Juan Moliere

Minuteman Award
Tim Smith

Most Improved
Kyle Jennings

S.T.U.D Award
Joe Sbordon

Diver Dude
Jason Cook

Rookie of the Year
Jorge Fortin

Iron Man Award
Dan Backler

Coaches' Award
Trevor Ziegler
Kyle Jennings

Women's Awards
Most Valuable Performer
Elizabeth "Boopa" Walsh

Coaches Award
Joan Baltazar

Minuteman Award
Elizabeth "Boopa" Walsh

Most Improved
Michaela Butler