May 5, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving program held its annual team banquet April 23 with 17 student-athletes receiving awards for their contributions to Virginia's very successful 2004-05 season. The banquet was held at the Abbott Center on the grounds of the Darden School at the University of Virginia. In addition, several swimmers earned awards at the UVa Athletic Department All Sports Banquet, which was held May 4 at University Hall.

Fourth-year Luke Anderson (Charlottesville, Va./Bolles School) and third-year Katie Gordon (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) were named the men's and women's team MVPs, respectively. Gordon was also awarded the Bernardino Scholarship. Diver of the Year honors went to third-years Andrew Barber (Vienna, Va./Marshall) and Eric Kelley (Rockford, Ill./Rockford Christian). First-years Pat Mellors (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) and Jess Lewis (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) received the Rookie of the Year award for the men's and women's teams, respectively. Fourth-years Chris Cooper (Sparta, N.J./Sparta), Brett Simon (San Mateo, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep), and Katie McWilliams (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) received the team Unsung Hero awards. The recipients of the Coaches' Award for the men's and women's teams were fourth-year Michael Raab (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson) and second-year Jenny Steiner (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence). Cooper and Steiner were also recipients of the Academic Award for the men's and women's teams. The Hardest Worker Awards went to second-year John Millen (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) and first-year Stephanie Glover (Raleigh, N.C./Athens Drive). The Ramirez Family Leadership Award was given to fourth-year Bo Greenwood (Manakin, Va./Goochland) and third-year Laura Mumper (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin). The Ramirez Family Scholarship was awarded to second-year Vanja Rogulj (Zagreb, Croatia/Split) and third-year Elaine Bennett (Richmond, Va./Douglas Freeman).

Greenwood and fourth-year Kate Wrenshall (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bolles School) were the recipients of the team's Brooke Maury Memorial Award and Diane Montgomery Greene Memorial Award for the men's and women's. The team awards are given to the student-athlete who exemplifies the highest qualities of leadership, cooperative spirit and unselfish service in the interest of athletics at the University of Virginia. Greenwood was also the recipient of an ACC Top VI Award and the Life Skills Scholarship Award. Anderson was the recipient of an ACC Outstanding Scholar Athlete Award. In April, Greenwood and Anderson were honored by the ACC with postgraduate scholarships. Greenwood received a Jim and Pat Thacker Award and Anderson garnered a Weaver-James-Corrigan Award for outstanding performance in athletic competition and in the classroom. Both will receive $5,000 to use toward graduate education.

Anderson was named the men's team MVP for the second time in his career. Anderson concluded his swimming career at Virginia by being named the Most Valuable Swimmer of the Meet at the 2005 ACC Championships. At ACCs, Anderson won the 100 free for the fourth time. He also won the 200 free for the third time in his career, and he was the runner-up in the 50 free. Anderson was also a member of the winning 200 free relay, 800 free relay, and 400 medley relay. While at UVa, Anderson has won a total of nine individual ACC titles and 13 relay titles. At the NCAA Championships, Anderson earned honorable mention All-America honors as a member of the Cavaliers' 16th-place 200 free relay and 13th-place 800 free relay. Anderson leaves Virginia as a 15-time All-American, including three first-team honors. During the 2004-05 season, Anderson was named the ACC Men's Performer of the Week on five occasions and he received the honor a record 11 times during his career.

Gordon was named the women's team MVP for the first time in her career. Gordon was a finalist in three events at the 2005 ACC Championships. Gordon just missed earning All-ACC honors with her fourth-place finish in the 400 individual medley. She also finished sixth in the 500 free and seventh in the 200 backstroke at ACCs. Gordon also swam a leg on the Cavaliers' second-place 800 free relay at ACCs. During the 2004-05 season, Gordon was also named the ACC Women's Performer of the Week for the week of November 8. Gordon was also named this year's recipient of the Bernardino Scholarship. Gordon is both an All-American in the 500 free and former ACC champion in the 800 free relay.

Barber and Kelley were named the Divers of the Year for the 2004-05 season. Barber qualified for and competed at the Zone B diving regionals after competing in the finals of the one and three-meter boards at the ACC Championships. Barber finished sixth on the three-meter board and eighth on the one-meter board at ACCs. Kelley also competed at the ACC Championships, finishing 11th on both the one and three-meter boards.

Rogulj and Bennett were the recipients of the Ramirez Scholarship that is awarded to members of the team that have earned the respect and recognition of their peers and coaches through their commitment, achievement, and positive approach to the sport. Rogulj earned two first-team All-America accolades at the NCAAs with his fifth-place finish in the 200-breaststroke and sixth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke. Rogulj also earned honorable mention honors at NCAAs as a member of the 16th-place 200 free relay. At ACCs, Rogulj won his second consecutive title in the 200 breaststroke. He also won the 100 breast and was a member of the winning 400 medley relay. Bennett was a finalist in three events at the ACCs. Bennett finished sixth in the 200 fly and eighth in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Mellors, the 2005 ACC Men's Rookie of the Year, garnered UVa's Rookie of the Year Award. Mellors had an outstanding first season at Virginia, earning first-team All-America accolades and winning two ACC titles. At the NCAA Championships, Mellors earned first-team All-America honors for his fifth-place performance in the 400 individual medley. Mellors also earned honorable mention honors for his 10th-place finish in the 200 I.M. In the prelims for the 200 I.M., Mellors swam a time of 1:46.07 to set a new school and ACC record in the event. At the ACC Championships, Mellors unseated the defending champions in both the 200 and 400 I.M. to take home both titles. Mellors was also a consolation finalist in the 200 backstroke, finishing 10th.

Lewis was named the Rookie of the Year for the women's squad. Lewis earned All-ACC honors when she tied for third in the 200 free at the ACC Championships. She also swam in the finals of the 100 free at ACCs, finishing sixth. Lewis played a pivotal role on Virginia relays as well, swimming on four of Virginia's ACC relay teams. She was a member of the second-place 200 and 800 free relays and third-place 400 free and 400 medley relays.

Raab and Steiner earned the Coaches' Award, which is given in recognition of significant athletic contribution to the University of Virginia, dedication, attitude, commitment, and performance that is instrumental to the team's success. Raab ended his distinguished career at UVa as a seven-time ACC champion and an eight-time All-American. At the ACC Championships, Raab won his fourth consecutive title in the 200 butterfly. Raab also earned All-ACC honors as the runner-up in the 100 fly. He also swam on two of Virginia's winning relays, the 800 free relay and 400 medley relay. At the NCAA Championships, Raab earned a first-team All-America honors for his sixth-place finish in the 200 fly. Steiner qualified for and swam at the 2005 NCAA Championships in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, finishing 33rd in both events. At the 2005 ACC Championships, Steiner was a finalist in the 200 breaststroke, finishing sixth and was a member of the Cavaliers' second-place 200 medley relay. Steiner was also the recipient of the women's Academic award, which is given to the athlete with the highest grade point average over the past two semesters.

Cooper won the Academic award for the men's team. Cooper was a finalist in the 200 butterfly at the 2005 ACC Championships, finishing eighth. Cooper also swam the 100 fly and 50 free at ACCs. He also received the team's Unsung Hero award. In addition to Cooper, McWilliams and Simon received the Unsung Hero award. McWilliams is another of Virginia's outstanding distance swimmers. At the 2005 ACCs, she finished eighth in the 1650 free. McWilliams finished in the top eight of the 1650 free all four years at Virginia. She also swam in the consolation finals of the 400 I.M. and 500 free at ACCs. Simon won the first ACC title of his career, as he was a member of the winning 200 free relay, which set a new school record of 1:19.46. Simon also made the consolation finals of the 50 free, where he finished ninth.

Greenwood and Mumper were awarded the Ramirez Family Leadership Award for exhibiting traits of superior leadership ability, high ethics, excellence in the classroom, preeminence in the University community and exceptional prospects for positively representing the University, the Virginia swimming and diving program and themselves in all of their business and community activities now and in the future. Greenwood finished his swimming career at Virginia by earning honorable mention All-America accolades with a 10th-place finish in the 400 I.M. at the NCAA Championships. He also competed in the 200 I.M and 200 backstroke at NCAAs. At the ACC Championships, Greenwood earned All-ACC honors for his second-place finishes in the 200 back and 200 I.M. as well as a third-place performance in the 400 I.M. Over the course of his career at Virginia, Greenwood has won a total of five ACC titles and is a three-time All-American. Mumper, a co-captain for the 2004-05 season, swam a season best in the finals of the 400 individual medley at the 2005 ACC Championships. Mumper finished eighth in the event. She also swam the 200 I.M. and the 200 breast at ACCs.

Millen and Glover were named the men's and women's Hardest Workers, respectively. Millen earned first-team All-America honors for his sixth-place finish in the 1650 free at the NCAA Championships. Millen also received honorable mention accolades after finishing 16th in the 500 free and swimming on the Cavaliers' 13th-place 800 free relay. At ACCs, Millen earned All-ACC honors as the runner-up in the 500 and 1650 free events. Millen also earned All-ACC status with a third-place performance in the 200 free. Glover finished seventh in the 50 free and eighth in the 100 fly at the ACC Championships. She also swam on UVa's second place 200 medley and 200 free relays as well as the third place 400 medley and 400 free relays.

In 2004-2005, 27h-year head coach Mark Bernardino's Cavaliers had outstanding seasons. The men's team was 10-1 and a perfect 5-0 in the ACC. The Cavaliers claimed their seventh consecutive and ninth overall ACC title. The seventh straight ACC title extends the school record for most consecutive titles won by a team. UVa went on to finish 13th at the NCAAs. Nine of the ten Cavaliers who swam in the NCAA Championships earned All-America accolades. The women's team went 10-2 overall, 5-1 in the ACC and finished second at the ACC Championships. Virginia placed 26th at the NCAA Championships with two of the swimmers who participated in the NCAA meet earning All-America honors.