Crippen And White Earn Virginia Swimming MVP Honors
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April 29, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving program held its annual team banquet Friday evening (April 23) with 19 student-athletes receiving awards for their contributions to Virginia’s very successful 2003-2004 season. The banquet was held at the Abbott Center on the grounds of the Darden School at the University of Virginia.
Second-years Fran Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa./Germantown Acadamy) and Brielle White (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside School) were named the men’s and women’s team MVPs, respectively. White was also awarded the Ramirez Scholarship along with third-year teammate Michael Raab (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson). Diver of the Year honors went to fourth-year Pete Amstutz (St. Joseph, Mich./St. Joseph). Rookie of the Year honors for the men’s and women’s teams went to first-years Vanja Rogulj (Zagreb, Croatia/Split) and Kimi Kelly (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Ursuline School), respectively. Fourth-years Betsy Downey (Richmond, Va./Douglas Freeman), Jon Haag (Ashland, Ohio/Ashland), and Cynthia Roller (Herndon, Va./Herndon) received the team Unsung Hero awards. The recipients of the Coaches’ Award for the men’s and women’s teams were fourth-year Adam Kerpelman (Lutherville, Md./St. Paul’s School) and second-year Rachael Burke (Bethesda, Md./Good Counsel). Fourth-years Ryan Mooney (Absecon, N.J./Holy Spirit) and Rachael Schaffner (Vienna, Va./Bishop O’Connell) were the recipients of the Academic Award for the men’s and women’s teams. The Hardest Worker Awards went to first-years Jenny Steiner (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence) and John Millen (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview). The Ramirez Family Leadership Award was given to fourth-years Amy Baly (Atlanta, Ga./Marist School) and Ian Prichard (Ventura, Calif./Buena). Baly was also named the winner of the Diane Montgomery Greene Award. Fourth-year Luke Wagner (Englewood, Colo./Regis Jesuit) was honored with the Brooke Maury Award. Third-year Bo Greenwood (Manakin, Va./Goochland) was named the recipient of the Bernardino Scholarship.
Fran Crippen has been named the men’s team MVP for the second consecutive year. Crippen concluded his sophomore season by being named the 2004 ACC Swimmer of the Year and the Most Valuable Swimmer of the Meet at the 2004 ACC Championships. At the ACC Championships, Crippen won his second consecutive title in the 500 freestyle, captured the 400 individual medley, and was also the runner-up in the 1650 free. At the NCAA Championships, he earned honorable mention All-America honors in four events. In the 400-meter and 1500-meter freestyles, Crippen finished 10th and ninth, respectively, to pick up two of his All-America certificates. Crippen placed 11th in the 400-meter individual medley and anchored the Cavaliers’ 15th-place 800-meter free relay to earn honorable mention honors in those events as well. In his two years at Virginia, Crippen is a seven-time All-American and a four-time ACC champion.
Brielle White has been named the women’s team MVP for the first time in her career. White had an outstanding season for the Cavaliers, which included breaking the school, Aquatic and Fitness Center pool, conference, and ACC meet records in the 100 and 200 backstrokes at the ACC Championships. White set a new record of 53.12 in the 100 backstroke, besting the record she set last year by almost a second. White also set a new school, pool, conference, and ACC meet records in the 200 backstroke with her time of 1:57.13. White captured the 100 backstroke title for the second consecutive year, and won the 200 backstroke title for the first time. At the NCAA Championships, White earned first-team All-America honors in the 100-meter backstroke with her fourth-place finish. In the 200-meter backstroke, White earned honorable mention honors with a 10th-place finish.
White and Michael Raab 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. Raab earned first-team All-America accolades at the NCAAs with his fifth-place finish in the 200-meter butterfly and honorable mention honors as a member of UVa’s ninth-place 400 medley relay. Raab won the third consecutive ACC title of his career in the 200 butterfly at ACCs. Raab was also a member of the ACC champion 400 medley relay.
Pete Amstutz was named Virginia’s Diver of the Year. Amstutz qualified for the Zone B Diving Regionals where he finished 22nd on the one and three-meter boards. At the ACC Championships, Amstutz placed second on the one-meter board. During his final season at Virginia, Amstutz set the pool and school records for the six-dive one-meter event with a 365.33 points. Amstutz also set the school record in the six-dive three-meter event with a score of 336.83 points.
Kimi Kelly, the 2004 ACC Freshman of the Year, garnered UVa’s women’s Rookie of the Year Award. At the ACC Championships, Kelly won the 1650 free title and finished second in the 500 free to earn All-ACC honors in both events. At the NCAA Championships, she earned first-team All-America honors in the 1500-meter freestyle with her sixth-place finish. Kelly also earned honorable mention honors for her 14th-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle.
Vanja Rogulj was named the 2004 ACC Freshman of the Year and the Virginia men’s Rookie of the Year. Rogulj earned honorable mention All-America honors for his 10th-place finish in the 200-meter breaststroke and his 14th-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke at the NCAA Championships. Rogulj also earned an honorable mention certificate as a member of the ninth-place 400 medley relay. At the ACC Championships, Rogulj captured ACC titles in the 200 breaststroke and as a member of Virginia’s 400 medley relay.
Rachael Burke and Adam Kerpelman 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. Kerpelman ended his distinguished career at UVa as a nine-time ACC champion and a 12-time All-American. At the ACC Championships, Kerpelman swam on Virginia’s four winning relays, the 200, 400, and 800 free relays and 400 medley relay. At the NCAA Championships, Kerpelman earned two honorable mention certificates as a member of Virginia’s ninth-place 400 medley relay and 15th-place 800 free relay. Burke ended her second season as Virginia’s top finisher at the NCAA Championships, finishing second in the 1500-meter freestyle. Burke earned first-team All-America honors for this feat. She was also the ACC champion in the 500 free and finished second in the 1650 free at the ACC Championships.
Fourth-year Amy Baly received the Diane Montgomery Greene Award. In addition to being a women’s team captain, Baly is a six-time All-American and won the first ACC title of her career at this year’s ACC Championships. Baly captured the 400 individual medley title after earning All-ACC honors in the event the past three years. Baly is a two-time CSCAA Academic All-American and a recipient of the ACC’s Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarship.
Baly and fourth-year Ian Prichard 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. Prichard had an exceptional season for the Cavaliers, earning first-team All-America honors for his fourth-place finish in the 1500-meter freestyle. Prichard also earned honorable mention honors in the 400-meter freestyle (13th) and as a member of the 800 free relay (15th). At the 2004 ACC Championships, Prichard captured the third 1650 free title of his career and finished second in both the 200 and 500 free events. Additionally, Prichard was a member of Virginia’s winning 800 free relay at the ACCs. In his career at Virginia, Prichard is a 13-time All-American and an eight-time ACC champion
Fourth-year Luke Wagner was the recipient of the Brooke Maury Award. Wagner is a men’s program record 15-time All-American and won a total of 14 ACC titles. At this year’s NCAA Championships, Wagner earned first-team All-America honors for his seventh-place finish in the 200-meter backstroke. Wagner also garnered honorable mention honors as a member of the ninth-place 400 medley relay. At the ACC Championships, Wagner won the 100 back title and was a member of Virginia’s winning 400 medley, 400 free, and 800 free relays. He also earned All-ACC honors for his second-place finish in the 200 back. Wagner received the ACC’s Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarship and was a Rhodes Scholar finalist.
Fourth-year Ryan Mooney was the Academic Award winner for the men’s team. The Academic Award is given to the athlete with the highest grade point average over the past two semesters. Mooney is a sports medicine major and joined the team as a walk-on in his first-year. The Academic Award for the women’s team went to fourth-year commerce major Rachael Schaffner. Schaffner was a member of the 2003 ACC title-winning 200 medley relay.
First-years John Millen and Jenny Steiner were named the men’s and women’s Hardest Workers, respectively. Millen earned honorable mention All-America honors for his 14th-place finish in the 1500-meter free at the NCAA Championships. Millen also earned All-ACC honors for his trio of third-place finishes in the 200, 500, and 1650 freestyle events at ACCs. Steiner qualified for and swam at the NCAA Championships in both the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke events. She also swam on both of the Cavaliers’ medley relays at the NCAAs. Steiner was just shy of earning All-ACC honors in the 200 breaststroke at the ACC Championships as she placed fourth in the 200 breaststroke and eighth in the 100 breast. She also swam the breaststroke leg of the Cavaliers’ second-place 400 medley relay at ACCs.
Bo Greenwood was named the recipient of the Bernardino Scholarship. Greenwood won the third consecutive ACC title of his career in the 200 individual medley. Greenwood also placed second in the 400 individual medley and fifth in the 200 backstroke at the ACCs. At the NCAA Championships, Greenwood earned honorable mention All-America honors for his 10th-place finish in the 400 individual medley. Greenwood has also been awarded the Gray-Carrington Scholarship, which is one of the most prestigious awards a Virginia undergraduate student can receive.
Fourth-years Betsy Downey, Jon Haag, and Cynthia Roller were honored with the Unsung Hero award. Downey has been a consistent performer for the Cavaliers and finished 10th in the 1650 free at this year’s ACC Championships for the third time in her career. Haag is a six-time All-American and has won a total of eight ACC titles in his career at Virginia. Haag was a member of Virginia’s ACC champion 200 and 400 free relays and earned All-ACC honors with his second-place finish in the 100 freestyle. Roller was just shy of earning All-ACC honors at the ACC Championships with her fourth-place finish in the 100 butterfly. Roller also swam on the Cavaliers’ second-place 200 free and 400 medley relays. Roller went on to swim at the NCAA Championships, where she improved upon her performance at the meet last year by finishing 22nd in the 100-meter butterfly.
In 2003-2004, 26th-year head coach Mark Bernardino’s Cavaliers had outstanding seasons. The men’s team was 10-1 and a perfect 6-0 in the ACC. The Cavaliers claimed their sixth consecutive and eighth overall ACC title. The sixth straight ACC title set the school record for most consecutive titles won by a team. UVa went on to finish 13th at the NCAAs. All nine of the Cavaliers who swam in the NCAA Championships earned All-America accolades. The women’s team went 6-4 overall, 4-2 in the ACC and won the ACC Championship for the second consecutive year. Virginia placed 19th at the NCAA Championships with three of the swimmers who participated in the NCAA meet earning All-America honors.