Emory & Henry's Fowler, Nolte Headline List of Honorees

FOREST, Va. --- Emory & Henry College took home two major awards as part of the 2014 All-ODAC Swimming awards.  The Wasps' Allison Fowler and Michaela Nolte were tabbed the ODAC Swimmer of the Year and ODAC Rookie of the Year, respectively.  Sweet Briar College head coach Jason Gallaher was named the ODAC Coach of the Year.  Washington and Lee University's Stephanie Foster garnered ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete accolades from the league's sports information directors, and Guilford College's Morgan McKinnon received the Bonnie Kestner Sportsmanship Award.

Thirty-six athletes earned a spot on any of three All-ODAC teams based on their highest finish at the recently completed ODAC Swimming Championships.  Swimmers that placed first or second in individual races earned All-ODAC First Team honors, while those that finished third or fourth comprise the All-ODAC Second Team.  A fifth or sixth place showing garnered recognition on the All-ODAC Third Team.

Fowler, a freshman from Morristown, Tenn., was a part of four first place performances (two individual) and a pair of second place finishes (one individual).  Individually, she won the 400-yard individual medley with a time a 4:33.74, setting both ODAC overall and championship meet records in addition to qualifying provisionally for the NCAA Division III Championships by eclipsing the B-cut standard.  Fowler also won the 200-yard butterfly in a meet record time of 2:07.81.  That time, which also bettered the NCAA B-cut, marked the second time she set the ODAC meet record following a 2:09.88 in the preliminaries.  She placed second in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:10.17.  Fowler joined her teammates in setting meet and overall records in the 400-yard medley (3:55.78) and 400-yard freestyle (3:31.94) relays, as well as placing second in the 800-yard freestyle relay (8:02.40).

Nolte, a freshman from Hillsborough, N.C., was also a part of four victories in addition to second and third place finishes among the six events in which she participated.  Nolte joined Fowler on the record-setting 400-yard medley (3:55.78) and 400-yard freestyle (3:31.94) relay teams.  She was also a part of the 200-yard medley relay squad that finished second in 1:48.31.  Individually, Nolte won both the 100-yard (1:05.49) and 200-yard (2:22.81) breaststroke events.  In the 100-breaststroke, she qualified nationally and set meet and overall records in both her finals and preliminary (1:05.74) efforts.  She nearly did the same in the 200-breaststroke, setting both records and qualifying nationally in her finals race, while eclipsing the B-cut and overall record in the prelims (2:23.10).* Nolte also competed in the 50-yard freestyle, placing third (24.19).

Gallaher, in his ninth year guiding the Vixens swimming program, earns his second ODAC top coaching honor, joining the award he won in 2005.  Sweet Briar jumped from seventh in the 2013 championship point standings to fourth in 2014 with 349 tallies, its most since 2011.  Three Vixens earned All-ODAC laurels, including Megan Monahan on the first team.  Her victory in the 200-yard backstroke marked the first event win for SBC since 2005.

Foster, a sophomore from Columbia, Md., maintains a 3.975 grade point average as a Philosophy and French double-major.  A three-time W&L Scholar-Athlete as well as Dean's List and President's List honoree, Foster is a member of Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society and has secured the James D. Davidson Award and Ralph C. Kemp Honor Scholarship for 2012-13 and 2013-14.  In the pool, Foster has won back-to-back 100-yard backstroke titles, adding this year's win to that of her first year in 2013.  This past weekend, she set the ODAC overall record and provisionally qualified for the NCAA championships in the prelims (57.76) of the event.  She also placed second in the 200-yard backstroke (2:07.38) and helped her team to a second straight win in the 200-yard medley relay (1:46.24), setting ODAC overall and meet records and eclipsing the NCAA B-cut in the process.  Foster and her teammates finished second in 400-yard medley relay (3:56.17).  She also placed fifth in the 200-yard individual medley (2:12.51).

For more information on ODAC swimming, including results from the 2014 ODAC Swimming Championships, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter.

* Note: Before her finals swim, Nolte set the ODAC overall record in the 200 breaststroke, but not the meet record.  Some meet records date back to the ODAC/Atlantic States Championships, which is no longer competed (last meet in 2011).  Non-ODAC teams (or non-ODAC teams at that time) can hold those records.