Swimming’s Kate McDonald Named Lowell B. Damonte Award Recipient
May 4, 2021 | Women's Swimming and Diving
NEW ORLEANS — After finishing the 2020-21 season with two gold medals at the American Athletic Conference Championship, Tulane swimming's senior Kate McDonald has been named the Lowell B. Damonte Award recipient.
Established in honor of Lowell B. Damonte, the Green Wave's first swimming coach who organized swimming as an intercollegiate sport at Tulane in 1961, this award honors student-athletes who exemplify athletic ability, scholarship, leadership and personality – the qualities Damonte looked for in an individual.Â
"This year has been a challenging year, which makes these awards very special," head coach Leah Stancil said. "Kate was one of our team captains and possesses the qualities that I am sure that Coach Damonte would be very impressed to see. The entire team has shown resiliency and has repeatedly pivoted with every challenge we have had to face in this season. These award recipients stood out and I am eternally grateful for their leadership."
McDonald led the Olive and Blue in her final season on the roster, finishing first at the AAC Championship in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:12.50) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:00.57) events while also helping Tulane's 400-yard medley relay team to a third-place finish (3:41.73).
The senior has racked up 10 conference medals in her four years Uptown, standing first in the program record books in the 200 breast (2:11.08) and the 200 IM (1:58.01) while ranking second in the 100 breast (1:00.34).
Four other members of Tulane's swimming and diving teams earned awards at this year's ceremony.
Junior Noa Heron received the Captain's Award, which is also known as the Most Improved Player award. This is given someone who demonstrates successful performance, the team's five pillars of success (positivity, courage, confidence, resiliency and competitiveness), academic success and a positive attitude.
Receiving both the Service Award and the Academic Scholar Award was senior Jeni Griffin. The Service Award is awarded to the student-athlete who leaves a positive impact on the team and engages in community service, while the Academic Scholar Award is given to someone who sets a high-standard in the classroom, earns a high GPA, is reliable in academic performance and also maintains great communication with professors and advisors.
The Freshman of the Year award was given to Gianna Spremullo. The recipient of this award is someone who has demonstrated performance success by scoring the most points among all freshmen during the year and/or breaking school records and also demonstrates sportsmanship.
Lastly, Paige McKenzie received the Most Outstanding Diver award. This award was given to the person who was the highest point scorer at the AAC Championship and at dual meets throughout the season, someone who broke records and who was a good teammate.
Follow the program on Facebook and Twitter (@GreenWaveSwim) and on Instagram (@TulaneSwimDive). Fans can also follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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