TicketsMay 7, 2021
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati's swimming and diving team announced their 2020-21 end of year awards, celebrating the successes and accomplishments of their student-athletes.
It was an unprecedented season due to COVID-19, but the Bearcats were able to see lots of success in the pool. Below are this seasons Bearcats award winners.
BEARCAT AWARD
The Bearcat award celebrates the male and female student-athlete that went above and beyond for the team behind the scenes.
Molly Chelovitz earned it for the women this year for stepping up into a leadership position on the team, doing everything she could to help the women not only in the water but also to come together as a team. She also had a lot of perserverance with her approach to swimming, which allowed her to have a breakthrough season.
Connor Funke earned it for the men for his dedication to the team throughout the entire season, despite not being able to compete. His positive attitude and commitment to his sport and academics helped him be successful this season.
BREAKTHROUGH SEASON
Katherine Connelly earned this award on the women's side for her overall fantastic season, where she showed consistent improvements across all of her events. At AAC Championships, she was able to breakthrough in both of her races. In the 100 fly she improved from a 55.97 to a 54.94 and in the 200 fly she improved from a 2:01.26 to a 2:00.04. Her improved time in the 200 fly also earned her a third place trophy at the 2021 AAC Championships.
Mohamed Abdelbaky earned this award on the men's side after improving in every single one of his freestyle (50-500) and butterfly (100-200) events this season. This included a three second drop in the 200 free, earning him a spot on the 800 freestyle relay team. he also made the podium in both the 100 and 200 fly with significant time improvements.
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Logan Lawhorn earns this award for her performance in the 200 breaststroke at the 2021 AAC Championships. Going into the meet, her best time was 2:22.93. During prelims she was able to drop almost four seconds to post a time of 2:19.17, sneaking into the A final. She finished fifth overall after dropping her time again, finishing the 200 breast with a time of 2:17.70.
The Men's 200 Medley Relay – the relay consisted of Blake Hanna (backstroke), Dom Polling (breaststroke), Michael Balcerak (butterfly) and Hunter Gubeno (freestyle). Each of them were able to hit best times on their splits to shatter the previous school record of 1:27.20 with a final time of 1:25.54. This performance also earned them a gold medal at the 2021 AAC Championships.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Matea Sumajstorcic had a strong showing in her first season with the Bearcats and earned rookie of the year honors after her success at the 2021 AAC Swimming and Diving Championships. A transfer student from University of New Mexico, the junior claimed her first championships victory in the 500 meter freestyle, touching the wall in 4:47.77. She went on to claim another gold medal in the1,650 meter freestyle with a final time of 16:25.48, while also finishing fourth in the women's 400 meter individual medley race.
Hunter Gubeno started his freshman year off by almost breaking a school record at his first dual meet of the season, finishing in first place in both the 200 meter backstroke (1:43.51) and the 200 meter individual medley (1:47.81) races. He continued to show dramatic improvement throughout the 2020-21 season. He went on to finish as the highest freshman point scorer at the AAC Championships and was part of the 200 meter medley relay team that shattered the previous school record. Alongside his teammates Dominic Polling, Michael Balcerak and Blake Hanna, the men's 200 medley relay team touched the wall with a time of 1:25.54. This was enough for another school record, conference record and pool record.
MOST VALUABLE SWIMMERS
Maddie Exton is our female MVP this season for consistently performing at a high level throughout the 2020-21 season. She was named American Athletic Conference Women's Swimmer of the Week on February 2nd for her dominating performance during two-day series against crosstown rival Xavier and No.10/19 Louisville. She claimed three victories over Xavier, touching the wall in 1:49.35 in the 200-yard freestyle, 23.38 in the 50 freestyle and swimming the anchor leg on the winning 200-yard medley relay team. She also posted a personal best in the 100-yard free with a time of 50.02 At Louisville, she pulled in two more podium finishes with a second-place showing in the 100-yard free, posting a time of 50.59, while placing third in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking in at 57.36. Performing individually and on relays, she helped lead our Women's team throughout the season and to a third place finish at the AAC Conference championships. She finished her senior season with three personal best times.
Blake Hanna earns MVP honors for being the first NCAA qualifier for the men's team since 2017. Since joining the team in 2018, Hanna has broken his own school record on nine separate occasions in the 200 back. He currently sits atop the UC Record book with a time of 1:40.96, which he posted this season at the Louisville Men's Invitational, shattering his own pervious school record of 1:42.43. This time earned Hanna his spot in the NCAA Championship. At the 2021AAC Swimming and Diving Championships, he not only won two of his three solo events in the 200 back and 100 back but also continued to break his own school records. He posted personal best times 1:42.43 (200 back) and 46.32 (100 back). Alongside his teammates Dominic Polling, Michael Balcerak and Hunter Gubeno, Hanna posted another personal best in the 50 back with a split time of 21.53, assisting the men's 200 medley relay team in taking home the first-place crown after touching the wall with a clocking of 1:25.54. This was enough for another school record, conference record, and pool record. He brought national recognition to UC with his showing at the 2021 NCAA Championships and hs dedication and leadership throughout the season helped him reach this level of success.
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati's swimming and diving team announced their 2020-21 end of year awards, celebrating the successes and accomplishments of their student-athletes.
It was an unprecedented season due to COVID-19, but the Bearcats were able to see lots of success in the pool. Below are this seasons Bearcats award winners.
BEARCAT AWARD
The Bearcat award celebrates the male and female student-athlete that went above and beyond for the team behind the scenes.
Molly Chelovitz earned it for the women this year for stepping up into a leadership position on the team, doing everything she could to help the women not only in the water but also to come together as a team. She also had a lot of perserverance with her approach to swimming, which allowed her to have a breakthrough season.
Connor Funke earned it for the men for his dedication to the team throughout the entire season, despite not being able to compete. His positive attitude and commitment to his sport and academics helped him be successful this season.
BREAKTHROUGH SEASON
Katherine Connelly earned this award on the women's side for her overall fantastic season, where she showed consistent improvements across all of her events. At AAC Championships, she was able to breakthrough in both of her races. In the 100 fly she improved from a 55.97 to a 54.94 and in the 200 fly she improved from a 2:01.26 to a 2:00.04. Her improved time in the 200 fly also earned her a third place trophy at the 2021 AAC Championships.
Mohamed Abdelbaky earned this award on the men's side after improving in every single one of his freestyle (50-500) and butterfly (100-200) events this season. This included a three second drop in the 200 free, earning him a spot on the 800 freestyle relay team. he also made the podium in both the 100 and 200 fly with significant time improvements.
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Logan Lawhorn earns this award for her performance in the 200 breaststroke at the 2021 AAC Championships. Going into the meet, her best time was 2:22.93. During prelims she was able to drop almost four seconds to post a time of 2:19.17, sneaking into the A final. She finished fifth overall after dropping her time again, finishing the 200 breast with a time of 2:17.70.
The Men's 200 Medley Relay – the relay consisted of Blake Hanna (backstroke), Dom Polling (breaststroke), Michael Balcerak (butterfly) and Hunter Gubeno (freestyle). Each of them were able to hit best times on their splits to shatter the previous school record of 1:27.20 with a final time of 1:25.54. This performance also earned them a gold medal at the 2021 AAC Championships.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Matea Sumajstorcic had a strong showing in her first season with the Bearcats and earned rookie of the year honors after her success at the 2021 AAC Swimming and Diving Championships. A transfer student from University of New Mexico, the junior claimed her first championships victory in the 500 meter freestyle, touching the wall in 4:47.77. She went on to claim another gold medal in the1,650 meter freestyle with a final time of 16:25.48, while also finishing fourth in the women's 400 meter individual medley race.
Hunter Gubeno started his freshman year off by almost breaking a school record at his first dual meet of the season, finishing in first place in both the 200 meter backstroke (1:43.51) and the 200 meter individual medley (1:47.81) races. He continued to show dramatic improvement throughout the 2020-21 season. He went on to finish as the highest freshman point scorer at the AAC Championships and was part of the 200 meter medley relay team that shattered the previous school record. Alongside his teammates Dominic Polling, Michael Balcerak and Blake Hanna, the men's 200 medley relay team touched the wall with a time of 1:25.54. This was enough for another school record, conference record and pool record.
MOST VALUABLE SWIMMERS
Maddie Exton is our female MVP this season for consistently performing at a high level throughout the 2020-21 season. She was named American Athletic Conference Women's Swimmer of the Week on February 2nd for her dominating performance during two-day series against crosstown rival Xavier and No.10/19 Louisville. She claimed three victories over Xavier, touching the wall in 1:49.35 in the 200-yard freestyle, 23.38 in the 50 freestyle and swimming the anchor leg on the winning 200-yard medley relay team. She also posted a personal best in the 100-yard free with a time of 50.02 At Louisville, she pulled in two more podium finishes with a second-place showing in the 100-yard free, posting a time of 50.59, while placing third in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking in at 57.36. Performing individually and on relays, she helped lead our Women's team throughout the season and to a third place finish at the AAC Conference championships. She finished her senior season with three personal best times.
Blake Hanna earns MVP honors for being the first NCAA qualifier for the men's team since 2017. Since joining the team in 2018, Hanna has broken his own school record on nine separate occasions in the 200 back. He currently sits atop the UC Record book with a time of 1:40.96, which he posted this season at the Louisville Men's Invitational, shattering his own pervious school record of 1:42.43. This time earned Hanna his spot in the NCAA Championship. At the 2021AAC Swimming and Diving Championships, he not only won two of his three solo events in the 200 back and 100 back but also continued to break his own school records. He posted personal best times 1:42.43 (200 back) and 46.32 (100 back). Alongside his teammates Dominic Polling, Michael Balcerak and Hunter Gubeno, Hanna posted another personal best in the 50 back with a split time of 21.53, assisting the men's 200 medley relay team in taking home the first-place crown after touching the wall with a clocking of 1:25.54. This was enough for another school record, conference record, and pool record. He brought national recognition to UC with his showing at the 2021 NCAA Championships and hs dedication and leadership throughout the season helped him reach this level of success.