NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving program has held its annual season ending awards banquet, announcing the recipients and honorees for 2015-16 season as well as announcing the team captains for the 2016-17 season.
The women’s team posted an 8-8 record during the regular season, and improved to fourth place in the 2016 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship. With the help and confidence of two individual school records, one relay record, and 43 All-Time Top 12 performances, the Maroon & Gold saw a 57-point championship improvement from 2015.
Not to be outshined by their female counterparts, the Iona men’s team posted a 7-7 regular season mark, with a fifth place effort in the 2016 MAAC Championship, highlighted by an 82-point improvement from 2015.
The Iona men posted nine individual school records and another three relay standards, while posting 42 new All-Time Top 12 efforts.
With plenty to be proud of, both on a team and individual level, Head Coach Nick Cavataro, who completed his 35th season, and third-year assistant coach Anthony Bruno presented the prestigious team awards.
The Most Improved Swimmers are sophomore Alex Aliapoulios and freshman Matthew Bosse.
Aliapoulios swam on the team’s bronze medal MAAC Championship 400-yard Freestyle relay team, and was also tenth and fourteenth respectively in the 200-Free (1:56.45) and 100-Free (54.08).
Bosse posted a strong season, which climaxed with a pair of fourth place efforts at the MAACs, including a school record in the 200-Backstroke at 1:50.90.
Rookie of the Year honors went to Maria DiBella and Jude Zamora. DiBella was a three event finalist at the MAAC Championships, which was highlighted by a pair fifth place efforts in the 500 and 1000-Free (5:07.53 and 10:31.76). Her times in the free rank third on Iona’s top time list. DiBella placed tenth in the 200-Backstroke, recording the second fastest time in Gaels history at 2:07.73.
Zamora played a strong role all season in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events. At the MAAC Championship he took fifteenth in the 100-Butterfly with the fourth fastest time in Iona history at 51.47. The California native also led off the team’s fourth place 800-Freestyle Relay with a 1:43.36 leg, the seventh fastest ever for the Maroon & Gold.
The Team Player Awards were presented to freestyle Sydney Thompson and senior Tommy Keefe.
Thompson, a Bel Air, MD native, swam freestyle, breaststroke, distance and individual medley for Iona; the ultimate utility belt swimmer. Her best MAAC Championship effort was a seventh placing in the 400-IM (4:50.17), which was twelfth fastest all-time at Iona.
Keefe, a Libertyville, IS native, and two time team co-captain, raced the sprints this season while also serving as a strong anchor leg of the Gaels’ fifth place MAAC 200-Free Relay.
Team Dedication honors went to junior Natalie Bowman and sophomore Christopher Vadala.
Bowman, who will graduate this May in three years, competed in all the freestyle events in her three seasons donning the Maroon & Gold. She touched the wall for a fifth place finish in the 100-Free (53.08) at the MAAC Championships. The California native was also sixth in the 200-Free (1:55.16) and tenth in the 50-Free (24.46) as well as being a member of the Bronze medal 800-Free and 400-Free Relay quartets.
Vadala, a sophomore from Middletown, NJ, posted three personal best efforts at the MAAC Championships, including as seventh place in the 200-Breast (2:06.15) and eleventh in the 100-Breast (57.96). The times were third and fourth best, respectively, in the Iona record books.
The Patricia Hind Courage Award was presented to senior co-captain, Melissa Dorsch. She placed fifteenth in the 50-Free at the MAAC Championships and swam the anchor leg on the team’s sixth place 200-Medley Relay and the third leg on the 200-Free Relay.
The Coaches Awards were presented to freshman Jessica Schmidt, sophomore Kaitlyn Mahon, senior Daniel McGovern and freshman Owen Badin.
Schmidt and Mahon, both New Jersey residents, had strong seasons and each performed admirably at MAAC Championship.
Schmidt capped off her rookie season competing in the sprint freestyle, backstroke and IM events. Individually she posted a ninth, tenth and eleventh place efforts at the 2016 Championship, in the 100-Back (59.69); 100-Free (53.58) and 50-Free (24.50). Each of those times now sit within the Iona record book as top 12 efforts for the events.
Mahon, a distance freestyle swimmer, provided consistent scoring in the 200, 500, 1000 and 1650-events this season. At the 2016 MAAC Championships she was seventh in the 100-Free (10:38.28); eighth in the 1650-Free (17:40.44) and twelfth in the 500-Free (5:12.93). Those times rank fifth, third, and eighth all-time in Gaels history.
McGovern, along with teammate Keefe, served as a co-captain and SAAC Representative. He competed in the 500-Freestuyle and Butterfly events this season. The Plattsburgh, NY native posted career best efforts this season at the MAAC Championships in the 100-Fly (53.33) and 200-Fly (1:59.44).
Badin, a freshman from Richmond, VA, provided steady scoring this season in the middle and distance freestyle events as well as in the 200-back and 400-IM. At the 2016 MAAC Championship meet, he recorded his best effort of the season in the 400-IM (4:14.17) taking eleventh, and good enough for eighth all-time at Iona.
Most Valuable honors on the women’s side went to senior MaryEllen Mangione, who becomes the most decorated Iona swimmer – male or female – in MAAC Championship competition with 199 lifetime individual points, two more than former record holder Justin Griguill ‘14.
Mangione, a Maryland native and now three-time team MVP, captured MAAC gold in the 200-IM (2:06.16) with a new team record time. The versatile swimmer was also the silver medalist in the 400-IM race (4:30.71) and the bronze medalist in the 200-Breast (2:21.33). The Dean’s list student is also a member of the exclusive Delta Epsilon Sigma National Scholastic Honor Society.
On the men’s side, Long Island native sophomore Christian Foti captures the 2016 season MVP honors with a unique ability to compete in the 50 to 1,650-yard freestyle distance events. At the 2016 MAAC Championship, he came in fourth in the 200-Free, touching the wall in 1:41.52, the second fastest all time in Gaels history. Foti also came in fifth in both the 500-Free (4:32.42) and 1650-Free (15:58.01). The 500-Free and 1650-Free along with the 1000-yard split on route to the 1,650 (9:34.77) were all new school records.
Cavataro and Bruno also announced that rising senior Kathryn Nevin, rising junior Kendall Magill, rising senior Keegan Boisson-Yates, and Foti will serve as the 2016-17 team captains.
Speaking of the season Cavataro commented, “We have a goal to challenge for a MAAC Championship every season, but when you look at our collective accomplishments, it does affirm that we are improving as a unit, but also have to do more. I’m confident this group – combine with new talent – can and will rise to that challenge.”
Swimming news courtesy of Iona College Swimming & Diving.