Swimming Announces Awards for 2008-2009 Season

Ballard, Schirmers, Marecki, Powalski, Ruske, Miller, Heine and Vander Zalm all earn honors

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo men's and women's swimming and diving team announced its team awards for the 2008-09 season last week. Head coach Andy Bashor made the following presentations: Jessica Ballard and Zach Ruske were selected as the Most Outstanding; Alie Schirmers and Chad Miller earned the Most Improved Player Award; Brynn Marecki and Jared Heine received the Top Newcomer Awards and the Coaches' Award went to Laura Powalski and Connor Vander Zalm.

Jessica Ballard

The Most Outstanding Award is given to the student-athlete who makes the most significant contribution to the accomplishments of the team through his skills and leadership. Ballard, named the Most Outstanding following the 2008 season, was a member of the MAC Champion and MAC record-setting 200 medley relay. She finished fourth in the 200 backstroke (1:59.66), fifth in the 200 IM (2:02.40) and seventh in the 400 IM (4:23.03) at the MAC Championship meet. Ballard set school records in the 200 backstroke, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 800 freestyle relay and was named to the second-team All-MAC as well as the Academic All-MAC team with a 3.44 GPA. Ruske, given the men's Most Outstanding award for the third consecutive year, was the MAC champion in the 200 backstroke (1:47.08) and also had overall finishes of third in the 200 backstroke, eighth in the 400 IM and tenth in the 200 IM at the Sun Belt/MAC Championships. Ruske was named to the first-team All-MAC and set school records in the 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 backstroke and 800 freestyle relay.

Chad Miller

The Most Improved Player Award is presented to the student-athlete who has made the greatest stride or improvement in his performance from the previous season or from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. Schirmers swam lifetime-best times in the 500 freestyle (4:58.53), 400 IM (4:23.65) and 200 breaststroke (2:23.54) at MAC Championships, placing ninth in the 400 IM and 16th in the 500 freestyle. Schirmers was also a member of the school record-setting 800 freestyle relay. On the men's side, Miller earned lifetime-best times in the 50 freestyle (21.15), 100 freestyle (45.31) and 100 butterfly (50.82) at the Sun Belt/MAC Championships. Those times were good enough for an overall 15th place finish in the 100 freestyle, 21st place finish in the 100 butterfly and 29th in the 50 freestyle. Miller was also a member of the school record-setting 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.

The Top Newcomer Award is presented to the individual student-athlete who distinguishes himself as the most talented new player on the team or the individual who accomplishes the greatest achievements as a first-year player. Marecki proved to be a powerful breaststroker, placing third in the 100 breaststroke, sixth in the 200 breaststroke and 14th in the 200 IM at the MAC Championships. Marecki was also a member of the MAC Champion and MAC record-setting 200 medley relay, and set school records in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay and was named to the second-team All-MAC at the conclusion of the season. Heine placed eighth in the 100 freestyle, tied for tenth in the 50 freestyle and 13th in the 200 freestyle at the Sun Belt/MAC Championships. Heine set school records as a member of the 200 freestyle relay, 800 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay and was named to the All-MAC First Team.

Brynn Marecki

The Coaches' Award is selected by the head coach and is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the team virtues as defined by the head coach. The recipient is one who stands out in dedication, commitment, unselfishness and enthusiasm towards helping the team improve. Powalski, who was a team co-captain for the 2008-2009 season, has been re-elected as captain for the 2009-2010 season. She achieved a lifetime best time in the 200 freestyle and season best times in the 50 freestlye and 100 backstroke at the MAC Championship meets. Head Coach Andy Bashor said, "Laura has been and continues to be an invaluable member of our Swimming and Diving program. She acts as a 'coach' away from the pool and is constantly looking out for the best interest of the team. Laura is a true representative of what our program has become and the direction in which we are headed." For the men, Vander Zalm also served as co-captain for 2008-2009 and has been re-elected as captain for 2009-2010. He was the MAC Champion in the 1650 freestyle (15:39.75), set school records in the 1000 freestyle, 1650 freestyle, as well as the 800 freestyle relay and was named to the first-team All-MAC and Academic All-MAC teams at the conclusion of the season. "Connor has become a tremendous leader in and out of the pool. His athletic accomplishments speak for themselves, but it's his ability to communicate and his desire to achieve team success that makes him someone that his teammates look to for guidance and leadership," said Bashor.

Connor Vander Zalm

The women completed their season with a 9-3 overall record (4-3 MAC), which was the most overall wins since the 2001 season and the first ever winning conference duel meet record since joining the MAC in 1998. The men finished the season with an overall record of 4-3 (1-2 MAC), their first overall winning record since 2000. The men finished in their highest place ever (2nd) in the MAC and Head Coach Andy Bashor was named the Men?s MAC Co-Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the season.