April 16, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- It can be hard for some people to find the words to sum up an activity that consumed most of their lives, but on Sunday, April 14 the Penn State swimming and diving program celebrated their accomplishments from 2012-13 and allowed their seven seniors to impart a few words of wisdom on a packed house inside the Nittany Lion Inn.
Head coach John Hargis acted as the emcee for the event that took a look at a program that has seen steady improvement under his watch. The fifth-year frontman watched as his first full recruiting class ended their careers as some of the most decorated student-athletes in school history and lauded them for their dedication to Penn State, the swimming and diving program and, most importantly, setting a good example in the community and the classroom.
"These seven senior really led the charge to change this program," said head coach John Hargis. "I don't think that we could have had a better selection of young people to lead this team forward than these seven seniors. If you take a look at their legacy from the time they arrived on campus and the growth and change that was required to grow this program, it was all on their shoulders. The character of these seven kids shows in their successes in the pool and in the classroom. It shows that we recruited the right people."
In 2012-13, Penn State swimmers broke school records on 15 different occasions, while 39 women and 16 men wrote their names onto the all-time top-10 in school history. There were 13 women and seven men that participated at the 2013 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships with one men's and one women's diver participating at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships. A pair of men's relay teams claimed first team All-America honors, while nine different swimmers claimed ten honorable mention All-American accolades.
On dry land, the Nittany Lions will have a handful of College Swimming Coaches Association of America once the semester ends and the CSCAA announces the official list, but Hargis' team saw six men and 17 women earn Academic All-Big Ten honors for their work in the classroom. The men's program ended the fall semester with a 3.00 cumulative team GPA and the women boasted a 3.44 cumulative GPA, with Gabi Shishkoff (Franklin, Mass.) and Haley Sinatro (West Hartford, Conn.) both carrying a 4.00 GPA during the semester.
The individual awards started with the Nittany Lion Award, presented to the team member that whose perseverance and effort have led to the greatest overall improvement during the last season. The men's recipient was Sean Grier (Hummelston, Pa.), who posted personal best times in four events and collected seven NCAA B cut times and a school record in the 100 butterfly. Megan Siverling (Chester Springs, Pa.) earned the award for the women's program after setting a school record in the 1,650 freestyle at the NCAA Championships to claim honorable mention All-America honors in the event. The junior set a new personal best in all five freestyle events she swam during the 2012-13 season.
Nate Savoy (Reading, Pa.) and Paige Whitmire (Lederach, Pa.) won the L.D. McNeil and Elizabeth McCoy Outstanding Swimmer Awards. The award is voted on by teammates and given to the swimmer or swimmers for consistent outstanding performance to the team's success. Savoy was presented the award by senior captain James Wilson (Nottingham, Pa.) after earning a pair of honorable mention All-America swims at the NCAA Championships. The sophomore boasted a handful of NCAA B cut times and was a valuable member of the Nittany Lions relay rotation. Fellow senior captain Amy Modglin (Ft. Myers, Fla.) presented Whitmire with her award to honor the Big Ten 100 freestyle champion. Whitmire also posted 21 NCAA B cut times and broke three school records on the season; toping the school charts in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
The Ellen Perry and Robert Krimmel Academic Achievement Awards were presented to Shishkoff and Matt Salig (Downingtown, Pa.), respectively. The award is presented to the student-athlete that has attained the highest degree of academic achievement with a minimum of two semesters of coursework at Penn State. Shishkoff carries a 3.97 cumulative GPA in psychology, while Salig is a biomechanical engineering major with a stout 3.83 cumulative GPA.
The duo of T.J. Schenkel (Richboro, Pa.) and Megan Springsteen (Owego, N.Y.) took home the Robert E. Galbraith Award for the top diving honors on the squad. Both Schenkel and Springsteen qualified for the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, with Schenkel owning the top marks on the 1- and 3-meter boards and Springsteen ranking first on the team on the 3-meter and second on the 1-meter board.
The Jerome Weinstein Award, named in honor of a 1936 Penn State graduate and member of the first swimming team, is awarded to a team member that gives all of their efforts, emotionally and physically, to the team throughout the joyous time and during struggles. The men's recipient was Savoy, while Merritt Krawczyk (Kingwood, Texas) earned the award on the women's side. Krawczyk was a steady performer for the Lions throughout her career and capped her senior season with honorable mention All-America honors in the 200 medley relay and the 200 IM. She owned 20 NCAA B cut times and set the school record in the 200 IM twice during the season, boasting the current mark of 1:57.16 at the NCAA Championships.
The night wasn't all about awards, though, with each of the seven seniors - Jeff Gomes, Ann Ragan Kearns, Merritt Krawczyk, Amy Lewis, Alex Marchinski, Amy Modglin and Paige Whitmire -getting their chance to speak to the crowd and tell what their time at Penn State has meant to them. Below are a couple of quick pieces from the seven speeches, which all included tears, laughter, roommate stories and thank yous to family, coaches and teammates. The fact that each of the seniors spoke of how one and other affected each of their lives proves that this senior class was a special group of young men and women.
"In this room is my family," said senior Jeff Gomez. "Over my four years we have grown together and even though I will move forward and meet new people you all are the ones I will remember. When we get old, we will come back and tell stories about our time at Penn State and that is a special bond only we will have. You are my family and I am glad I met each and every one of you."
"There will probably be no other time in my life that I will be surrounds by thirty of forty of my closest friends," said Ann Ragan Kearns. "I want to remind each of you to enjoy this time in your life. Four years ago, when the seniors made these speeches and told me to enjoy every moment of the [early morning] practices I thought they were crazy, but I stand her four years later and tell you the same thing. Enjoy morning practice, because I know I am going to miss watching the sun rise over Mt. Nittany each morning. Appreciate these moments because they won't be there forever."
"I could not have imagined meeting the caliber of people I have met during my time at Penn State at any other school," said Amy Modglin. "I could have never imagined the positive impact that each of my fellow seniors would have had on my life...there was no other group I would have rather spent four years with. My four years have been a great journey and I will be watching for all of the fast results next year. John [Hargis] told us once that he never wants us to have regrets when we leave the sport of swimming and I can honestly say that every moment of my swimming career has left me a better person with an identity that will live on in my heart forever."
--NITTANY LIONS--