April 16, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
With a crowd full of Illinois State student-athletes, coaches, family and friends gathered for the annual swimming and diving awards banquet, swimmers Kyle Pullman and Rebekah Layman were named co-Most Valuable Swimmers for the 2006-07 season, while diver Katie Janonis was named Most Valuable Diver. The event, which was held at the Doubletree Hotel in Bloomington on Sunday, April 15, honored both the team and its individual members for outstanding effort throughout the season.
Head coach Steve Paska noted the rare-occurrence of having two swimmers share the honor of Most Valuable Swimmer.
"It's not often that the team votes for two swimmers as being the most valuable," said Paska. "I think such an occurrence has only happened once or twice in ISU history."
Though such an occasion does not happen often, Paska said the title was appropriate for both Pullman and Layman.
"Both Kyle and Rebekah were valuable to the team in their own respected ways," Paska said. "Both swimmers had terrific seasons and deserve to be recognized with the honor."
Pullman was the 100 freestyle champion at the Akron Invitational and placed third in the 200 freestyle at the Missouri Valley Conference meet, swimming personal-best times on both occasions. She will also have her name put in the Illinois State history books as the swimmer with the second-fastest 50 freestyle time (23.82) and third-fastest 100 freestyle time (52.13).
"Kyle had a fantastic senior season because of how consistent she was swimming at our meets," said Paska. "In my opinion, the award was given to Kyle for not only an outstanding season, but for a terrific career at Illinois State."
Layman led the team in scoring at the Akron Invitational and the MVC meet. She quickly became one of the team's top distance freestylers, which became apparent when she won the 1650 freestyle at the conference championships. Though only a sophomore swimmer, Paska admired the efforts which earned Layman the award.
"All-around, Rebekah was deserving of the award, as the season was a great run for her," Paska said. "She's one of the most versatile swimmers in Illinois State history and she's only a sophomore. In essence, I think her teammates saw she is a very talented swimmer as well as a fantastic student. She really portrays the idea of being a student-athlete."
Janonis led the Redbird divers at dual-meets and finished the season with a second-place finish on the three-meter board at the Valley Championships. The tremendous efforts by Janonis were also recognized by Paska.
"Katie was a very consistent diver for the team," said Paska. "She prepared in the daily workouts and at
each dual-meet in order to prepare for our bigger meets. The preparation Katie put into her diving regimen really paid off this season."
Other swimmers and divers were also recognized for their contributions to the team throughout the season.
Senior Jamie Haseman was given the Most Improved Award, as well as the Rebecca Wade Award, which is given to a swimmer who shows all around characteristics of a student-athlete. The second-annual Dede Woytowych Scholarship was given to Jena Allie. The Spirit Award was given to Kristin DeKeyrel for her continuous effort to keep the team motivated. Newcomer of the Year was given to both Catharine Danenhower and Katelyn Prorok.
Five swimmers were named Scholastic Award winners for their outstanding academic achievements. Receiving the award were Tracy Deyell, Haseman, Jennifer Klicka, Layman and Erin Woodruff.
The banquet concluded with the announcement of the captains for the 2007-08 season. Five swimmers were chosen based on team votes and coaches' selection. Representing the team next season will be Kathleen Borkovec, Deyell, Layman, Christine Steinbach and Valerie Zaleski.
