SYNCH: Life, Death, Team! – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Artistic Swimming
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State synchronized swimming team held its annual team banquet Thursday at the Ohio State University Golf Course Restaurant. Among family and friends, the Buckeyes celebrated their historical 2009 season as U.S. Collegiate and U.S. Senior National Champions and honored the four seniors Jayme DeLancy, Becky Kim, Carmen Moraes and Kendra Sollars.
The first honor, presented by Student-Athlete Support Services Office (SASSO) academic counselor Vicki Melnick, was the U.S. Collegiate Academic Awards. Liz Derr, Rita Gillan, Katherine Green, Meghan Kinney, Barbara Nesbitt, Jillian Penner, Hannah Shively and Sollars were 2009 honorees.
The 2009 U.S. Collegiate All-Americans were recognized next. Representing the Buckeyes on the All-America list were Kim, Kinney, Moraes (honorary), Nesbitt, Deborah Shim, Caitlin Stewart (honorary) and Michelle Theriault.
Associate head coach Holly Vargo-Brown, who left the podium without giving her famous “garden speech,” handed out the Most Improved Swimmer, Most Improved New Swimmer, JoAnn Ferguson Kale and Buckeye Awards.
Junior Hannah Shively was The Most Improved Swimmer recipient. Shively could not be in attendance, so in her absence, her father, Jim, accepted the honor. The Most Improved New Swimmer, which is awarded to the student-athlete who has improved the most during the course of the 2009 season, was presented to freshman Lauren Robinson.
The JoAnn Ferguson Kale Award is presented to the student-athlete who is friendly, helpful and respectful to others and Sollars was the 2009 honoree.
Junior Jackie Mundy was the Gray Team’s Buckeye Award selection. The honor is given to the student-athlete who exhibits outstanding Buckeye spirit, a strong ability to work well with teammates and coaches, excellent motivation and a clear vision of what it means to be a team player.
Up next was head coach Linda Lichter-Witter, who proclaimed, “This year has actually rendered me speechless,” with the Scarlet Team’s Buckeye Award, Most Outstanding Swimmer, Carmen Ohio, Jessica Beck and Scarlet and Gray Awards.
Shim, the silent sophomore team leader, was the Scarlet squad’s Buckeye Award winner. Witter recalled a time during the season when the team did not seem to be on the same page and Shim, who is a leader by example, called a team meeting. Lichter-Witter believes that moment was the beginning of the Buckeyes’ national championship run.
Nesbitt, who according to Lichter-Witter, gives 5,000 percent, earned the Most Outstanding Swimmer Award for the second-consecutive year.
The Carmen Ohio honor has a little extra meaning as it is voted on by the team and the 2009 honoree was DeLancy. This honor is presented to a senior who exemplifies outstanding leadership and team spirit.
An honor that touches the hearts of all who knew Jessica Beck, the 2009 Jessica Beck Award winner was Moraes. Beck, who died in 2005, was then-freshman Moraes’ “Big Sister” during what would have been her senior season with the Buckeyes. The honor is given to the team member who possesses the qualities of respect, dedication and “sunshine” spirit of our forever teammate, Jessica Beck.
The last honor handed out was the Scarlet and Gray Award, which is not an award that is annually presented. It is awarded to the swimmer who has gone above and beyond in their dedication to the program. To no one’s surprise, Kim was the recipient. Kim, who arrived to the Ohio State campus in 2004, was absent from the team in 2007 and 2008 to concentrate on making and training with the U.S. Olympic Team that competed in the 2008 Beijing Games. Following a severe shoulder injury just months before the Olympics that limited her action in Beijing, Kim was not sure she wanted to swim anymore. However, her passion for being a Buckeye overtook her and she returned for her final season in which she not only won her second U.S. Collegiate national title with Ohio State, but was the duet champion with Kinney.
The junior class of Diana Care, Liz Derr, Rita Gillan, Asia Luke, Jackie Mundy, Barbara Nesbitt, Emilie Siemer and Caitlin Stewart presented its own version of team honors with an Academy Awards theme. Awards, such as “Providing Best Poolside Snack” (Winner: Lauren Robinson) and “Best Poolside Cheerleader “(Winner: Torey Stachowicz) were handed out.
The evening concluded with everyone gathering in a circle and singing Carmen Ohio.
