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April 27, 2001

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving program held its annual team banquet Saturday evening (April 21) with 13 student-athletes receiving awards for their contributions to the team in a very successful 2000-2001 season.

Second-year Cara Lane (Charlotte, Va./Providence) and first-year Ian Prichard (Ventura, Calif./Buena) have been selected as the women’s and men’s team MVPs, respectively. Third-year Joe Piorkowski (Easton, Pa./Easton) has been named the Diver of the Year. Men’s and women’s Rookie of the Year honors went to first-years Luke Wagner (Greenwood, Colo./Regis Jesuit) and Amy Baly (Atlanta, Ga./Marist School), respectively. Baly was also named the women’s team’s Hardest Worker, while second-year Dan DeMarco (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck South) won the men’s Hardest Worker Award. Fourth-years Troy Johnson (St. George, Utah/Dixie) and Megan Iffland (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark’s) earned The Coaches Award. Virginia’s Academic Award recipients are fourth-year Jamie Grimes (Olney, Md./Sherwood) and third-year Caitlin Anderson (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s). Fourth-year Michael Fuller (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin) was selected as the Unsung Hero, while fourth-year Justin Capuco (Burtonsville, Md./Good Counsel) and second-year Mirjana Bosevska (Skopje, Macedonia/Trinity Prep) were recipients of the Ramirez Family Leadership Award.

Cara Lane defended her title NCAA title in the mile as she won the 1650-yard free in a time of 15:53.86. Lane also earned first-team All-America honors in the 500-yard free (third) and 200-yard butterfly (eighth). She was named the ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Year as well as the ACC Meet Most Valuable Swimmer for the second consecutive year. Lane won the 500 and 1650 free as well as the 200 fly at the ACCs. Ian Prichard was selected as the ACC Men’s Swimmer of the Year and ACC Meet Most Valuable Swimmer as well. Prichard earned honorable mention All-America accolades in the 1650, 500 and 200 freestyles with top 16 finishes at the 2001 NCAA Championships. Prichard’s top finish was ninth in the 1650 free. He won the 500 and 1650 free at the ACCs.

Joe Piorkowski qualified for the NCAA Zone B Diving Regionals and finished 24th on the one-meter board and 28th in the three-meter competition. At the ACC Championships, Piorkowski was a finalist on both the one and three-meter boards. He was third in the three-meter competition (486.60 points) and fifth on the one-meter board (239.40 points).

Luke Wagner and Amy Baly were the recipients of the men’s and women’s Rookie of the Year awards, respectively. Wagner finished fifth in the 200 backstroke at the NCAA Championships with a school record time of 1:42.67 and earned first-team All-America honors with his performance. He also won the 200 back at the ACC Championship and was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year. Baly captured honorable mention All-America accolades in the 400 individual medley and 1650 freestyle with 10th and 13th place finishes, respectively, at the NCAAs. Baly also earned the women’s team’s Hardest Worker Award, while Dan DeMarco was the recipient of the men’s Hardest Worker Award. DeMarco was one of three Cavaliers to earn honorable mention All-America honors in the 1650 free with a 10th place time of 14:59.62 at the NCAAs.

Troy Johnson and Megan Iffland 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. Johnson, a team captain, was a member of three of UVa’s five honorable mention All-America relay teams. He led off the 200 free relay (16th place) and anchored the 400 free relay (14th place) and 400 medley relay (12th place) teams. Johnson was also a member of four of Virginia’s five ACC title winning relay teams. Iffland holds five school records, including the 100 and 200 backstroke. Iffland, a team captain, captured honorable mention All-America accolades in the 200 back with a 16th-place finish. She also won her first individual ACC title this year in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.64.

Jamie Grimes and Caitlin Anderson earned Virginia’s Academic Awards. Grimes was a 1999-2000 College Swimming Coaches Association of America Academic All-American as well as an ACC Honor Roll pick. Grimes was an honorable mention All-American in the 1650 free with a 15th-place performance (15:06.75) at the 2001 NCAAs. In 2000, he earned first-team All-America honors in the mile swim with a sixth-place finish. Anderson missed most of the 2000-2001 season with an injury. Anderson has been named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll twice (1998-99 and 1999-00).

Justin Capuco and Mirjana Bosevska are the recipients of the first-ever Ramirez Family Leadership Award, which is presented to one member of each of Virginia’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams. The recipients exhibit 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. Capuco served as a team captain in 2000-2001 and has been a team leader throughout his career. He was a consolation finalist in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke at the 2001 ACC Championship. Bosevska earned first-team All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the 400 individual medley at the 2001 NCAA Championships. She set a school record with her time of 4:11.52. Bosevska was also 10th in the 500 free and 16th in the 1650 free to earn honorable mention All-America accolades.

The team’s Unsung Hero Award went to Michael Fuller. Fuller was one of ten Cavalier men to compete in the NCAA Championships. Fuller swam the 1650 free and 200 fly at the NCAAs. A team captain, Fuller earned All-ACC honors in 2001 by finishing third in the 200 butterfly in the conference meet.

In 2000-2001, 23rd-year head coach Mark Bernardino’s Cavaliers had outstanding seasons. The women’s team went 7-1 and finished second in the ACC Championship. Virginia placed 12th at the NCAA Championships with all six swimmers who participated in the NCAA meet earning All-America honors. The men’s team was 8-1 on the season and a perfect 5-0 in the ACC. The Cavaliers claimed their third consecutive and fifth overall ACC title with a meet record 883.5 points. UVa went on to finish 13th at the NCAAs for its second best finish ever. Nine of 10 Cavaliers who swam in the NCAA Championships earned All-America accolades.

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