July 20, 2010

Knight - Career Improvement, Male
Danner - Break Out Swimmer of the Year, Female

Two George Mason swimmers were recognized this week for their outstanding performances this past week, as former Patriot Eric Knight won the Career Improvement Award while rising junior Ashley Danner was named the Female Break Out Swimmer by the 2009-10 College Swimming Honors.

Knight concluded his career with the Green and Gold winning the Most Outstanding Male Swimmer of the CAA Championships, after he won both the 100 and 200-yard freestyles. Head coach Peter Ward said about Knight, who also won the CAA Scholar-Athlete Award for men's swimming: "Eric Knight's college swimming career has been nothing short of amazing. When he came out of Westfield HS he could barely make our team or swim breaststroke legally. Then after making huge improvements he suffered a shoulder injury his senior year but was able to recover from surgery and come back better then ever. It is a great story."

Danner was a three-time All-American in 2010 including a runner-up finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, which was the highest finish ever by a CAA athlete at the NCAA meet. She also was an All-American in the 200 breast after a sixth-place finish and was an honorable mention All-American with her 16th-place finish in the 200 IM.. She also earned CAA Swimmer of the Year and Most Outstanding Swimmer honors after collecting three individual conference championships.

The inaugural 2009-10 College Swimming Honors include thirteen swimmers, divers or teams are being recognized for their outstanding performances through the 2009-10 collegiate swimming and diving season. Mason is one of three schools with multiple award winners, joined by Florida and Arizona.

The open nomination process for the 2009-10 season concluded on May 31st, 2010. Coaches, athletes and sport administrators submitted their nominees for a sample of categories including Career Improvement, Break-Out Swimmer, Break-Out Diver, Break-Out Team and Most Exciting Dual Meet. In all, nearly 100 athletes and/or teams from over sixty institutions were nominated for their achievements.

Swimutopia Features Aquatic & Fitness Center Tour, Interview with Coach Martin

The website Swimutopia.com recently profiled both the George Mason Aquatic & Fitness Center as well as assistant coach Petra Martin. The Aquatic Center video tour is below, while Martin's interview can be found at this link.