Nazareth's Taylor Robey and Stevens' Tyler Zanki Headline Empire 8 Conference's Swimming and Diving Awards
Alfred's Deaver Caps Career as E8 Diver of the Year for Second Straight Season
A trio of student-athletes from Nazareth were among those honored as the Empire 8 Conference announced it's 2018-19 Swimming & Diving Athletes of the Year and Sportsman of the Year teams. Stevens'
Tyler Zanki was recognized as the Women's Swimmer of the Year, while Nazareth's
Taylor Robey earned the recognition on the men's side.
To see the complete list of those that were recognized, please see below. Each award winner took home the same award at the E8's Swimming & Diving Championship in February.
CLOSER LOOK
Robey was one of three Nazareth student-athletes honored, joining
Allie Norwood (Women's Diver of the Year) and
Tom Griffin (Men's Rookie of the Year). Robey was named E8 Swimmer of the Meet after she helped lead the Golden Flyers to the E8 Championship. She won the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, and the 200-yard freestyle and qualfied for the NCAA Championships in the 200 free.
The E8 Women's Diver of the Year, Norwood competed in the 1- and 3-meter diving events at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship Meet. She won both diving events at the E8 Championship meet and finished fifth and sixth respectively in the 1- and 3-meter diving competitions at the NCAA Regional Qualifier.
Griffin, the Men's Rookie of the Year, won the 100 backstroke at the E8 Championship meet and was part of Nazareth's 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay teams that won E8 titles. He also finished second in the 50 freestyle finals and was part of the 400 medley relay and 400 free relay teams that finished second.
Zanki was tabbed E8 Men's Swimmer of the Year as he qualified to compete in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events at the recently-concluded NCAA Championship Meet. He was a three-time E8 individual champion and was part of the Stevens 400-medley relay which took home the title as well. He was the E8 Swimmer of the Meet at the conference championships.
Alfred's
Chris Deaver capped off his remarkable career with his second consecutive E8 Diver of the Year honor. Throughout the season, he posted 14 wins on the board, including posting wins on both the 1- and 3-meter boards at the E8 Championship Meet. He qualified to compete at the NCAA Championship in both disciplines as well.
Hartwick's Gina Grauer was named the E8 Women's Rookie of the Year after being named the Rookie of the Meet at the E8 Championship. She was a part of Hartwick's winning 200-freestyle, 400-freestyle, and 400-medley relay winning teams. She also finished second in the 200 individual medley and the 200 breaststroke.
The Stevens Coaching Staff, led by Paul Hughes, was honored as the E8 Coaching Staff of the Year on the Men's side, whilethe Nazareth staff, led by Scott Whitbeck, earned the recognition on the Women's side. Both led their programs to conference titles this winter.
Men’s Swimmer of the Year - Tyler Zanki, Stevens
Women’s Swimmer of the Year - Taylor Robey, Nazareth
Men’s Diver of the Year - Chris Deaver, Alfred
Women’s Diver of the Year - Allie Norwood, Nazareth
Men’s Rookie of the Year - Tom Griffin, Nazareth
Women’s Rookie of the Year - Gina Grauer, Hartwick
Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year - Stevens, led by Paul Hughes
Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year - Nazareth, led by Scott Whitbeck
Sportsman of the Year Team
Gina Artieri, Alfred
Zach Goodwin, Alfred
Victoria Argentieri, Hartwick
Hunter McRee, Hartwick
Rob Coatsworth, Nazareth
Taylor Robey, Nazareth
Courtney Jones, Stevens
Vincent Tavoletti, Stevens
Ashley Flint, Utica
Garrett Bortiatynski, Utica
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
One member of each program was named that institution's representative on the 2018-19 Empire 8 Conference Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com and
https://youtu.be/wzL4HcDoUUQ