State College, Pa. - The Penn State Men's Swimming and Diving team recognized the winners of its individual team awards at the annual team banquet head coach Peter Brown announced recently.
Senior Holden Comeau (Carlisle, Pa.) and junior John Retrum (Anderson, Ind.) were named as co-recipients of the Lou MacNeil Outstanding Swimmer Award, which is given annually to the swimmer(s) who consistently provide outstanding performances that contribute the most to the team's overall success.
Sophomore Mike Laskowski (Redmond, Wash.) was recognized as the winner of the Nittany Lion Award, given to the team member whose perseverance in practice and effort in competition have led to the greatest overall improvement in performance over the season or a period of years.
Senior Kevin Smith (Havertown, Pa.) was selected as the winner of the Weinstein Coaches' Award, which is presented annually to the squad member who is considered the team's hardest worker and is sure to give 100 percent to his teammates emotionally and physically through the good times as well as the struggles.
The Robert E. Galbraith Diving Award was awarded to senior Chris Alderman (Arlington, Pa.). The Galbraith Award is given to the diver who produced the most outstanding contributions to the team through performance, loyalty, spirit and leadership.
A total of 11 Nittany Lions were selected as recipients of the R. Lucas Shelly Award, which is given to returning team member(s) who demonstrate the strongest and most consistent work ethic during spring and summer training. The winners include Alderman, Paul Monyok (West Mifflin, Pa.), Laskowski, Rob Balazs (East Stroudsburg, Pa.), Chris Bagley (Philadelphia, Pa.), Gavin Carscallen (Calgary, Alb.), Comeau, Steve Hodgins (Holmdel, N.J.), Smith, Matt Teeter (Gettysburg, Pa.) and Retrum.
Penn State finished the 1999-2000 season with a 19th place showing at the 2000 NCAA Championships, the highest national finish in the program's history.
