April 24, 2006
IOWA CITY — The University of Iowa men and women’s swimming team announced its annual post-season awards at a banquet Saturday night.
The women’s team MVP award was given to senior Kelly Werner. The St. Louis, MO, native was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week December 13, by sweeping the 100 and 200 backstroke and winning the 100 butterfly at Iowa State. Werner led the team in the 100 and 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley, and recorded 15 individual victories on the season.
This year’s Pennington/Strength of Character goes to Karen Kelly. The Pennington/Strength of Character Award goes to the women’s team member who exemplifies the qualities of integrity, authenticity, dedication, work ethic, perseverance, loyalty, encouragement and leadership. It is named for Alison Pennington Haddon, who competed for the Hawkeyes from 1990-94, and was killed in a car accident in 2003. Kelly, a native of Galesburg, IL, led the team in the 200 freestyle, anchored the team-leading 200 and 400 freestyle relays, and was named academic all-Big Ten.
Senior Cameron Dye was awarded the Irving B. Weber Leadership award, which is presented to a men’s team member who displays outstanding leadership. The award is named for Iowa’s first swimming all-American in 1922. Dye, from Boulder, CO, recorded 15 top-five finishes and was named academic all-Big Ten.
Senior Trevor Haley was the recipient of this year’s Jim Marshall Award. Marshall was a Big Ten champion for the Hawkeyes in 1980 and the award is presented to the senior who has contributed the best of his athletic ability to the men’s swimming team. Haley led the team in the 200 and 400 individual medley. The Casper, WY, native recorded 14 top-five finishes, including six victories and five runner-ups.
The men’s MVP award is named for David Armbuster and Glenn Patton. Armbuster was Iowa’s first swimming coach, leading the team from 1917 to 1958. Patton coached the Hawkeyes from 1976 to 1998 and is Iowa’s all-time winningest coach, with a career record of 168-63. This year’s recipient was Dragos Agache, a sophomore from Constanta, Romania, who set a new school record in the 100 breaststroke at the Big Ten Championships. Agache, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, recorded seven individual victories and three runner-ups.
Robin Samples and Andrej Lenert were named team captains for the 2006-07 season. Samples, who will be a senior next season, was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week on February 7th by placing second in the 50 free and third in the 100 free at Northern Iowa. The Des Moines, IA native finished in the top five nine times and was named academic all-Big Ten. Lenert, a junior-to-be from Nepean, Ontario, led the team in the 100 and 200 backstroke and was named academic all-Big Ten.