On Sunday April 26 the UMW swim team came together with friends and family to celebrate their achievements of the 2014-2015 season. Seniors Alex Anderson, Maggie Neubig and Riley Scalzo, juniors Stephanie Hallock, Hannah Hagy and Zach Eisig and sophomore Dylan Gore were recipients of the team awards.
Some of the team's accomplishments for the year include - finishing the fall semester with a combined team GPA of 3.1, breaking a combined 15 school records (including 2 NCAA records), participating in a community service event each month the team was in season and winning the 21st CAC title (men) and 25th CAC title (women).
Alex Anderson and Steph Hallock were voted the team's Most Valuable Swimmers based in large part on their successes at the CAC championships in February. Between the two of them they won 6 individual races at CACs, were part of 8 winning relays, made 5 individual NCAA B-cuts, set 10 school records and 1 NCAA record. Both were named the CAC swimmer of year and were top dual meet performers. In his four years at Mary Washington Anderson was undefeated in CAC competition across dual meets and championships and was a four time NCAA champion.
Dylan Gore and Maggie Neubig were recognized as the team's Most Improved Swimmers after their incredible time drops over the course of the season. Dylan dropped 8 seconds in his 500 free (from 4:54 to 4:46), 2.4 seconds in his 100 backstroke (from 55.8 to 53.4) and 14 seconds in his 200 backstroke (2:09 to 1:55). Maggie experience similar results dropping 11 seconds in her 500 free (5:35 to 5:24), 15 seconds in her mile (18:38 to 18:23) and 14 seconds over the course of the season in her 200 free (2:17 to 2:03).
Zach Eisig and Hannah Hagy were voted as this year's recipients of the Eagle Award, the highest honor given to a UMW swimmer. The Eagle Awards goes to the male and female swimmer who, as voted by their teammates, best represent what being part of UMW swimming is all about; they are the best embodiment of UMW swimming in the pool, classroom and community. Both Zach and Hannah represented swimming at the Athletics Department Leadership Academy, finished no lower than third in their individual events at the CAC championships, were integral parts of relays and dual meet success and ranked among the top GPAs on the team. In addition they are always willing to go above and beyond when it comes to helping their teammates succeed in or out of the pool.
The final award given this year was the new "Class of 2015" award which was created by the coaching staff to honor the person who best embodies the characteristics of the class of 2015. This award will be decided on by the coaches and given to the person who is a passionate student-athlete who can approach their training and academic schedule with a creative mind, who is able to always put the best interests of the team ahead of their own and who excels in all areas of their life. Riley Scalzo was the first recipient of the Class of 2015 award for what she was able to accomplish both in the pool & in the class room over the past four years with the program.