For Immediate Release: May 15, 2008
Contact: Anthony G. Naglieri (sports@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-2956

Swimming and Diving Announces Team Awards, '08-09 captains

VESTAL, N.Y. -- The Binghamton men's and women's swimming and diving programs announced its annual awards and team captains for the 2008-09 campaign at the team banquet last week.

Junior men's standout Brenno Varanda (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was named team MVP, and the junior trio of Sean Lorenz (Norwich, N.Y.), Andrew Palumbo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), and Michael Popper (Lido Beach, N.Y.) was tabbed to lead the Bearcat men as captains next Fall.

Varanda led the Bearcat men to a 7-4 record and a fourth consecutive winning dual-meet season in 2007-08. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native won three individual titles at the 2008 America East Swimming and Diving Championship, garnering the men’s Most Outstanding Swimmer honors for the first time in his career.

He finished the year with a team-high 24 individual wins and will enter his senior season as a three-time reigning league champion in both the 200 breaststroke and the 400-IM. In his three-year collegiate career, he has collected seven individual America East titles.

The six-foot swimmer's successes have extended into the classroom as well, where he has amassed an impressive list of accolades. He was recognized as the 2007-08 America East Swimming Scholar Athlete of the Year and was one of three Bearcats named to the conference's all-academic team. He is a two-time member of the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll and was also a recent inductee into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society.

On the women's side, Brittany Detlef (Rochester, N.Y.) garnered MVP honors, while junior Amanda Decker (Rhinebeck, N.Y.) was chosen to assume the captaincy role for a second straight season, and will be joined by classmate Heather Jennings (Ridge, N.Y.).

The underclassmen-laden Bearcat women's program continued to make great strides in 2008-09. Heading the youth movement was first-year backstroke and butterfly swimmer Brittany Detlef.

Detlef stepped in and made an immediate impact in her first collegiate season, recording a team-high six individual victories.
The Rochester, N.Y., native earned a pair of top-10 finishes in the butterfly events in her America East Championship debut, highlighted by a third-place effort in the 100. She also scored in the 100-back with a 12th place finish.

Junior Peter Rodrick (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) and sophomore Ziyad Rouhana (Vestal, N.Y.) shared Most Improved honors for the men, while junior Jodi Brown (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and freshman Danielle Gallo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) were recognized as the women's honorees.

Rodrick was a triple-event point-scorer with a pair of top-10 finishes at the conference meet, including a sixth-place effort in the 200-fly. Over the course of the season, the Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., native shaved over 20 seconds off his time in the 500-free and more than 15 ticks in the 200-fly.

Rouhana bounced back from a shoulder injury which sidelined him for most of his freshman campaign, and was a point-scorer at the ECAC Championship meet. The Vestal, N.Y., native recorded his first collegiate victory in the 200-fly against Colgate, and landed a spot in the school's all-time top-10 list in the event.

Brown earned a 16th-place finish in the 200-free, scoring for the first time in her collegiate career at the America East meet. Her time in the event was nearly a full three seconds quicker than her previous-best effort.

Gallo stepped out as the team's top breaststroker and delivered a pair of spirited performances at the conference meet - setting new team marks in both the 100 and 200-breast events.

On the diving boards, junior Ryan Graham (Vestal, N.Y.) earned most valuable diver honors and freshman Liz Esposito (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was tabbed as the most improved diver.

Graham enjoyed a breakout season setting school records on both the one- and three-meter boards en route to becoming the first Binghamton diver to qualify for the NCAA Zones Championship.

Esposito, a first-year diver, has developed into a solid point-scorer scorer and contributed on both boards at the conference meet.

Junior Sean Lorenz (Norwich, N.Y.) and sophomore Kristyn Mohr (Staten Island, N.Y.) were recognized with the Hard to Outdo (H2O) Award, presented to team members whose "dedication, determination, and daily displays of team spirit are unparalleled".

Lorenz earns the honor for a second straight season. The Norwich, N.Y., native overcame a bout of mono in the middle of the season and not only recovered, but delivered a standout effort at the conference meet - earning all-conference and all-academic honors. He medaled in the 100-back with a third-place finish and took fourth in the 200-back.

Mohr earned an ECAC Merit Medal and posted the highest GPA of all Binghamton student-athletes. She was also responsible for organizing the team's primary community service activity, Cub Care.

Women's awards:
Most Valuable: Brittany Detlef ('11)
Most Improved: Jodi Brown ('09) and Danielle Gallo ('11)
Hard to Outdo (H2O) Award: Kristyn Mohr ('10)

Men's awards:
Most Valuable: Brenno Varanda ('09)
Most Improved: Peter Rodrick ('09) and Ziyad Rouhana ('10)
Hard to Outdo Award (H2O): Sean Lorenz ('09)

Diving awards:
Most Valuable: Ryan Graham ('09)
Most Improved: Liz Esposito ('11)

2007-08 Team Captains:
Men: Sean Lorenz, Andrew Palumbo, Michael Popper
Women: Amanda Decker and Heather Jennings