Women’s Swimming & Diving Announces Award Winners at Annual Banquet

Women’s Swimming & Diving Announces Award Winners at Annual Banquet

5/6/2019 4:33:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Brown women's swimming & diving team honored its seven award winners and celebrated its 2018-19 accomplishments recently at the team's annual banquet.

The 2018-19 season saw Brown place fourth at the Ivy League Championships, the program's highest finish since 2005. The Bears also had their highest point total at championships under the current scoring model. Going 3-4 in the dual meet season, the program's largest margin of victory was an impressive 158 points while their largest margin of loss was just 25 points against the defending Ivy League Champions.

Outside of the pool, the Bears recorded the top fall GPA for the Ivy League, gaining CSCAA Scholar All-Ameirca Team honors, while also partnering with PASA and the Boys & Girls club to teach 80+ kids in the Providence area how to swim.

2018-19 Team Awards
The Martha Joukowsky '58 Scholar-Athlete Award is given to the member of the team who, through dedication in the classroom and in the pool, exemplifies the true meaning of a scholar-athlete.
Martha Sharp Joukowsky '58 was inextricably linked to the Women's Swimming & Diving Program as the Faculty Liaison through the 1990s and early 2000s.  She is a Professor Emeritus in and the namesake of the Joukowsky Institute for Archeology and the Ancient World.  She and her husband, Artemis Joukowsky '55, have contributed in innumerable ways to Brown University over the past half-century and are true exhibitors of the phrase "Ever True."  Joukowsky retired in 2007.
Winner: Sophomore Tory Center (Madison, Wis.) - Economics Concentration and junior Emily Zitkovsky (Lexington, Mass.) - Neuroscience/Pre-Med Concentration
- Center: Tied the school record while on the 200 freestyle relay team ... Finished 10th in the 50 freestyle at the Ivy League Championships
- Zitkovsky: competed in all six meets for the Bears

The Outstanding First Year Award was given out to the most outstanding first-year swimmer or diver based on Championship Meet performance.
Winner: Freshman Andrea Wei (Hopkinton, Mass.)
- Made one A Final and two B Finals at the Ivy League Championships, swimming best times in all three of her individual events
- Set program records in the 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, and was as a member of the 400 medley relay
- Her 100 butterfly split of 53.15 is the fastest in program history

The Florence Filippo Most Valuable Swimmer Award is given to the member of the team who contributed the most to the success of the team during the season.
Florence Filippo served as the first head coach of Brown Women's Swimming & Diving (the previous teams having been part of the then-separate Pembroke College), beginning in 1970 and continuing through the 1974 season.
Winner: Sophomore Taylor Seaman (Brighton, Mich.)
- Scored 65 individual points at the Ivy League Championships
- Broke the 100 backstroke school record at the championships
- Part of the 400 medley and the 200 freestyle relays that broke school records

The Dave Sias Diving Award is presented upon recommendation by the coaching staff to a member of the men's or women's team to recognize outstanding performance, dedication, and contribution to the diving program. The award does not need to be awarded every year.
Dave Sias was Brown's Diving Coach from 1973 until 2001. Sias coached multiple All-Americans, including Brown's first female athlete to earn that status, and his divers still hold the school records for both men's and women's diving on all boards except the Women's 3-meter. Sias has been a part of each of the Women's Program's Eastern and Ivy Championship Teams.
Winner: Junior Julia Benz (Superior, Colo.)
- Competed in the 1M and 3M at the Ivy League Championships
- Appeared in five meets for the Bears

The Dave Roach P'05 Coaches' Award is given to a member of the team who has demonstrated the qualities of dedication, personal self-improvement, and sportsmanship. This student-athlete has shown true determination and hard work, thus earning the respect of their contemporaries and proving their worth to the team.
Dave Roach began as the Head Women's Swimming & Diving Coach at Brown in 1978.  After winning EWSL Championships in 1985 and 1986, and winning Ivy League Dual Meet crowns in 1983-1985, Roach moved on to become Head Coach at University of Tennessee in 1986.  In 1990, he returned to Brown as the Athletic Director in 1990 and remained in that role until 2004.  Currently the Athletic Director at Fordham, Roach's daughter, Michelle '05, swam at Brown.
Winner: Senior Emma Wittmer (Edina, Minn.)
- An alternate at the Ivy League Championships as a freshman, Wittmer improved every single year, scoring nine points as a sophomore, 16 as a junior and 34 as a senior

The Rebecca More Leadership & Service Award recognizes the member of the team who selflessly gives of herself to the team in ways both in and out of the pool and who best exemplifies the ideal of a leader within the team and beyond.
Becky More served as the Women's Swimming & Diving Team Faculty Liaison in 1993-2010.  She retired from her role as the Director of the Sheridan Center for Teaching & Learning at Brown in 2010, a position she had held since 1992. More served on multiple committees for Brown Athletics and was a constant advocate for the success and well-being of student-athletes at Brown.
Winner: Sophomore Julia Feord (Royal Oak, Mich.)
- Finished 14th in the 3M at the Ivy League Championships
- Competed in all six meets
- Took first in the 1M and second in the 3M against Cornell

The Beth Conroy Captains' Award was given out by the team captains – recognizes special contributions to the program by a member of the team, staff, faculty, or alumni group. Recipients of this award have been integral to the team's development and success throughout the season.
Beth Conroy worked with Brown women's swimming & diving for 11 years. Her approach to athletic training is holistic and proactive. To Beth, her student-athletes are more than a list of injuries and ailments. She works to get to know their goals, their concerns, and what they are truly excited about here at Brown.
Winner: Karen Haberstroh '95 (faculty advisor and alumna of the program)