2010 Annual Award Banquet Highlights

Swimmers, coaches and volunteers were honored for their outstanding achievements and contributions at the Annual Awards Banquet, held November 7, 2010 at the Aqua Turf. The banquet commenced with opening remarks made by Christopher Hug, General Chair of Connecticut Swimming followed by presentation of the USA Swimming ConocoPhillips Service Award to Judy Snow, Coach of the Year awards to Sean Farrell and Marci Berlinski and Swimmer of the Year awards to Christian Higgins and Kristin Duquette. Over 1,000 people were in attendance as 439 athletes were recognized for academic achievement and/or Top 16 swims, including open water swimming.

The entire Connecticut Swimming Board of Directors, extends its gratitude to volunteers Chris Geier, Nancy Sweeney and Sue Husta-- their efforts made this Awards Banquet an outstanding success.

Swimmer of the Year

Christian Higgins

Christian Higgins (WYW) was named Swimmer of the Year by the CSI Senior Committee. This award is given to the highest-ranked CSI athlete for the 2009-2010 season. Christian's coach, Randy Erlenbach, presented this award summarizing Christians accomplishments. This past season, Christian was ranked 68th in the world in the 200M Breaststroke. He finished 7th at last summer’s USA Swimming Senior Nationals. Throughout the year, as a member of the USA Swimming Youth Team, this young man competed in Stockholm, Berlin, Barcelona, and lastly Maui at the Jr Pan Pacs where he placed 4th in the 200M Breaststroke and 9th in the 100M Breaststroke. Christian currently holds 22 Connecticut Swimming records. Read Coach Randy Erlenbach's presentation of Christian Higgins here.

Adapted Swimmer of the Year

Kristin Duquette

Kristin Duquette was named CSI Adapted Swimmer of the Year and was a nominee for the USA Swimming Tricia L Zorn Disability award which is presented annually to a USA Swimming adapted athlete and is based on performance. Kristin trains and competes regularly in USA Swimming and other events including the swimming portions of triathalons. Among her long list of accomplishments, Kristin was the captain of U.S. Team competing in Greek Open, leading team with the second highest medal count of the event. Kristin herself won 3 silver medals and 1 gold medal competing in the Paralympic Class S4 classification. Kristin aspires to participate in 2012 London Paralympics with the U.S. Paralympic Swim Team.

Each year Connecticut Swimming has the opportunity to select a recipient for USA Swimming's PhillipConoco Outstanding Service Award. Sponsored by USA Swimming and ConocoPhillips, this award is presented annually to a volunteer in recognition of outstanding service to swimming. This year's recipient is Judy Snow. Judy has served as CT Swimming's registrar for over 25 years and works closely with CSI clubs and coaches. Unofficially, she is CT Swimming's longest serving volunteer. She became involved when her 2 sons took up swimming and continued after they graduated from college. Judy also was the recipient of this award in 1993.

Marci Berlinski (GLAS) grew up swimming USA Swimming in CT and continued swimming in college at CCSU. She became head coach of Glastonbury Swimming in 2006. She was an assistant Zone Team coach in the spring of 2007 and head Zone Team coach in the winter and spring of 2008. Since Marci joined Glastonbury Swimming, the USA Swimming team has more than doubled producing 1 Senior National qualifier, 10 Sectional swimmers, numerous Zone Team qualifiers and tripled the amount of Age Group qualifiers. Swimming has always been and will continue to be a rewarding part of her life. Read Marci's acceptance speech here.

Each year Connecticut Swimming recognizes those athletes demonstrating high ability in the classroom and in the pool. Connecticut Swimming Scholar-Athletes have completed 10th, 11th or 12th grade and have earned a minimum 3.5 grade point average as well as competing in designated CSI-sanctioned meets. Congratulations to this fine scholars and athletes!

Additionally, athletes achieving Scholastic All-American time standards and meet eligibility, National Open Water competitors and athletes competing in US Paralympic Nationals and Trials may apply for USA Swimming's Scholastic All-America Team. Congratulations to these fine scholars and athletes that have competed on the regional or national level.

Shannon Ahearn#	Andrew Klutey#
Megan J. Aitro	Kevin M. Kosciuk#
Lauren Almonte	Kevin Michael Kozikowski
Jeff Anderson	Alyssa LaFrenierre
Victoria Arel	Megan Lattimer#
Zachary Auclair#	Timothy Lattimer#
Connor Beaulieu*#	Morgan E. Lee
Ciara Beaulieu	Andrew Lee
Edward S. Becker IV	Kelsey Linstrum*
Alivia Berg*#	Rebecca Liu
Lisa Bero*#	Ruth Hanson Logan*
Rhianna Blake	Michael Lombardo
Rachel Bohn*	Kathryn E. Luchansky#
Brian Bollerman#	Samantha Marshall
Sarah Bradner*	Faith Martin
Dawn Bridgham	Bohdan Martin
Jonathan Burr	Elizabeth McDonald#
Ryan J. Buys	Sarah McEvoy
Ryan Patrick Cahalane	Victoria McGovern
Jillian Carter#	Christine McGuire
Nicholas Celestin	Melissa Merwin
Ray Chen	Dorothy Miller
Derek Chu	Kaitlyn Morio
Karen Chu	Kaylin C. Moss#
Erin Cohn	Jillian Mullany*
Jazzi Cooper	David W. Mullany
Maggie Crocamo	Katie Orem*
Justin Reid Cross	Meredith Jane Outlaw*
Keara Daly#	Sidney Pahmer#
Tara Dawley	Alaina Papiro
Erica Dembowski	Alex Pascal#
Conor James Deveney#	Diana Pimer
Thomas Andrew DiGuglielmo*	Meghan M. Poole
Andrew S. Dillinger	David Powers
Timothy Dion	Tyler Pramer*
Kelly DiStefano	Meredith Pramer
Shannon Dubay	Jack Pretto#
Derrian Duryea	Nicholas Purrington
Kristi Edleson*#	Laura Reeves*
Katherine R. Feeser	Connor Riley
Sean Finnegan	Kyle Rohdin
Courtney Flynn#	Erik Saberski
Kymberly Forsyth	Kyle Savidge*
Shelby Fortin#	Morgan E. Scarth
Kelli Freer	Brendan Smalec
Steven Geier	Grayson P. Smith#
Andrew J. Golankiewicz*#	Molly Smyth#
Adelyn Graf	Gabrielle Spinosa
Robert B. Harder#	Colleen Stewart
Molly R. Hellauer	Sean M. Sutherland*#
Matthew R. Hellauer	John Gallagher Swain
E. Andrew Hendrickson#	James Szabo
Caroline Higgins	Nikolai Tchobanov
Samantha Hill	Stephanie Ternullo#
Eric Holden#	Emily Margaret Thomesen
Katherine Holden	Andrew J. Thurston*
Rachel Holden	Catherine Treesh
Casey Horan#	Carolyn M. Tusa*
Daniel P. Hufziger	Lindsay Tyler#
Madeleine Irwin	Rhiannon Urciuoli
Jakobi J. Jackson	Christopher G. Weihs
Chrisopher P. Janson	Erin M. Westcott
Nora Jefferies	Gabrielle Wimer
Sabrina Jin-Corcoran	Austin Wolff#
	Mark Yanagisawa

Additional USA Swimming Scholastic All-America Scholars

Edward Becker
Samuel Cagenello
Michaela Kearney
Adam Lebovitz
KC Moss
Tyler Naumann
Alexandra Polhill
John Santoro
Haley Sinatro

It has been about 35 years since I last attended this banquet. Back then there was only about 6 or 8 tables of swimmers and parents. It is inspiring to see how CT Swimming has grown since then. Seeing you all here today certainly inspires me and I hope challenges each and every one of you to be here next year and to gain further recognition from higher levels of excellence!

It is my honor to present to you the CT Swimmer of the Year. This achievement is awarded to the swimmer with the highest FINA world ranking from 2010. This year’s recipient was ranked 68th in the world in the 200M Breaststroke. Over the course of the year, he has set numerous Y National, and Connecticut Swimming records in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke events. He qualified 7th at last summer’s USA Swimming Senior Nationals. Throughout the year, as a member of the USA Swimming Youth Team, this young man competed in Stockholm, Berlin, Barcelona, and lastly Maui at the Jr Pan Pacs where he placed 4th in the 200M Breaststroke and 9th in the 100M Breaststroke. It is a pleasure to coach such a focused and hardworking individual. I present to you Christian Higgins.

Long range goals – Participate in 2012 London Paralympics with the U.S. Paralympic Swim Team.
Short range goals – Participate on local club swim team, keep training, maintain or improve functionality, improve times. Participate in National Paralympic swim meets with CT Paralympic Swim Team.

1. Fall, 2010—CCAT—Central Connecticut Aquatic Team member
2. 06/10– Captain of U.S. Team competing in Greek Open, Athens leading team with the second highest medal count of event
3. Won 3 silvers, 1 gold in Paralympic Class S4 at Greek Open
4. Summer, ‘10—Masters team, Wesleyan University
5. 03/10—Spring Can-Am Nationals, San Antonio, Texas—Qualified as 6th in the world in the 200 freestyle, also received best times in the 50 and 100 freestyle for Paralympic Class S4; selected to U.S. team for the Greek Open
6. 10/09— Member of U.S. team at 2009 Youth Parapan Games, Bogota Colombia, (Paralympic Class S4):
7. Fall, 2009—Wheaton swim team
8. 08/09— Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – got 4 out of 5 best times with 4 second places and 1 first place; also selected to U.S. team for the Youth Parapan American Games in Bogota, Columbia (October, 09)
9. 07/09 - Pat Griskus Sprint Triathlon – Lake Quassapaug, Southbury, CT – participated in swim portion of relay team.
8. 06/09 – Madison Mile Ocean Swim – Madison, CT – participated in ocean swim.
9. Connecticut Paralympic Swim Team - ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10 (Paralympic Class S4)
10. 05/09— Cincinnati, got best times for distance events
11. 03/09—Spring Can-Am Nationals, Gresham, Oregon- Became 10th in the world in the 50 backstroke, qualified nationally for the 50 free, and came in first for the 50 back, free and breaststroke
12. 02/09— Made an American Record in the 200 Yard Backstroke (Paralympic Class S4)
13. 10/08—San Diego Triathlon, La Jolla, CA – participated in the swim portion in La Jolla Cove
14. 07/08— National Junior Disability Championships, Rutgers University, - Broke three Junior National Records in the 50 and 100 backstroke and 50 freestyle (Paralympic Class S4)
15. 05/08— Wheelchair Tri-State Regional Championship - First in 50 back, 100 back, and 200 backstroke; American Record in the 200 short course meter backstroke (Paralympic Class S4)
16. 12/07— Participated in International Paralympic Meet (Can- Am Open Swim Championship in University of Maryland) coming in first, second, and fifth (S4)
17. Member of the Challenged Athlete’s Foundation – ’08, ‘09, 10
18. Summer, ‘08—Peg Dakin Swim Award – (Glenbrooke league award)
19. Summer, ’07 , ‘08—Member of Glenbrooke Swim Club and Manchester Swim Club-

Nominations
Summer, 2010—USA National Disability Award and USA National Disability Service Award

As Senior Coaches Representative I have the pleasure of introducing the recipients of the Age Group and Senior Coaches of the Year. I received numerous nominations from swimmers, parents and coaches. It is always a wonderful experience reading all of the glowing reviews for our CT Coaches. Voting is then done by the coaching community at their respective championship meets.

The 2010 Age Group Coach of the Year is Marci Berlinski from Glastonbury Swimming.
Marci grew up swimming USA in CT and continued swimming in college at CCSU. She became head coach of Glastonbury Swimming in 2006. She was an assistant Zone Team coach in the spring of 2007 and head Zone coach in the winter and spring of 2008. Since Marci joined Glastonbury Swimming, the USA team has more than doubled producing 1 Senior National qualifier, 10 Sectional swimmers, numerous Zone Team qualifiers and tripled the amount of Age Group qualifiers. Swimming has always been and will continue to be a rewarding part of her life.

The 2010 Senior Coach of the Year is Sean Farrell from the Cheshire Y/Sea Dog Swim Club.
Over the last year Sean’s swimmer’s have achieved: 6 Individual CT resident Records, 1 CT Resident Relay Record, 1 Relay YMCA National Championship, 4 Individual YMCA National Championships, he had a swimmer Ranked #1 in the nation for 13 year old boys in the 100 fly and his Swimmers achieved 59 YMCA All-American Distinctions. On a personal note I have the privilege to coach on deck with Sean every day. He is truly one of the most creative and talented coaches around.

I’d like to start off by thanking Connecticut Swimming and all the Connecticut coaches. It’s a true honor to be standing up here today. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say but then I asked myself, how did I get here, and the answer is pretty simple. I got here because I had a tremendously supportive coaching staff and dedicated athletes. The real reason I’m up here today is because of Mark Kinne, my assistants at Glastonbury and the Glastonbury Swimmers. I have to thank Mark and my assistants for believing in me and supporting my ideas. Most of all, a huge thanks goes out to all the Glastonbury swimmers. Their trust and hard work in and out of the pool is the heart of Glastonbury’s success. It is no secret to anyone in this room that goals guide the hard work and effort of successful swimmers. I talk to my swimmers about setting goals not just for their seasons but also for life in general. As an adult, I still believe it is important to set personal and professional goals. I was fortunate enough to achieve one of my long standing professional goals as I was recently named Aquatics Director at a new athletic facility. Although it is hard to make a major change in life, I also believe it is important to challenge myself, to step outside of my comfort zone. My message to all of you is to challenge yourself in practice, challenge yourself in meets and step outside of your comfort zone. It’s sometimes scary, but taking that leap and challenging yourself will pay off in the pool, in school and in life.

I am very honored to be receiving this award. CDOG is definitely not a one-man show. I cannot accept this award on behalf of just myself. The parents of the swimmers really buy into what we do. The parent’s association is crucial to our success and provide a tremendous amount of support to the staff and the program. Also, the parent chaperones on our travel trips are exceptional and work very, very hard to make sure our swimmers are taken care of on our travel trips. I am very fortunate to work with an outstanding group of coaches. First and foremost on that list is Dan Mascolo. Last and certainly not least are the swimmers in our program. I am very lucky to be able to work with great athletes. When I say great athletes, I am referring to who they are, not their abilities. They really are great kids. They make me want to continue to research and come up with new and innovative ideas that will provide the best opportunity for their success. They make me want to come to work each day. I accept this award on their behalf. Thank you.

10/U	Erin Earley Matthew Limbacher
11/12	Val Daigneault Bryce Murad
13/14	Gabrielle Daigneault Joe Shepley
15/18	Lisa Bero Matt Grippo

10/U	Erin Earley Jack Scobee
11/12	Val Daigneault Bryce Murad
13/14	Juliette Lajoie Juliette Lajoie
15/18	Cooper Kearns Matt Grippo

10/U	Eva Crouse Kieran Smith
11/12	Val Daigneault Bryce Murad
13/14	Juliette Lajoie Matthew Luther
15/18	Brynne Beneke Michael Dustin

10/U	Miku Takabayashi Kieran Smith
11/12	Val Daigneault Bryce Murad
13/14	Juliette Lajoie Stephen Holmquist
15/18	Victoria Arel Andrew Hendrickson