Water Vike Update
April 2019 Edition
A Note from Head Coach Kevin Rapien...
As you'll read in this newsletter, April has been an exciting month for your Vikes! It was special to celebrate our student-athletes and their numerous academic and athletic achievements. We gave thanks to our mentors and volunteered with Special Olympics. When reflecting on this month and the entire season, I am extremely grateful for all who play an important role in the success of this program. And as the academic year comes to a close, thanks to our seniors for being such great leaders here at CSU!
-Kevin
Congrats to Michaela Bargardi and MacJilton Lewis!
On Tuesday afternoon, seniors Michaela Bargardi and MacJilton Lewis were honored at the Cleveland State Athletic Academic Luncheon. Michaela was the proud recipient of the President's Award which is given to the graduating student-athlete with the highest GPA. Michaela holds a perfect 4.0 GPA and she will be heading to Wayne State University in the fall to pursue a master's degree in Speech and Language Pathology.

MacJilton was awarded the the 19th annual John McLendon Award, which is given to the student-athlete who best represents the ideals and personal philosophy of McLendon, a former CSU men's basketball coach who is enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame. There were three special awards given to student-athletes and two of the three went to members in our programs. We couldn't be more proud of their accomplishments!

Student-athletes were also recognized at the luncheon if they hold a 3.25 or higher cumulative GPA.
Great work, Vikes!
Celebrating the 2018-2019 Season
On Saturday afternoon we celebrated the successful 2018-2019 season by hosting our team banquet. We were thrilled to see so many family members and significant others come to the banquet - we had over 150 people attend! Here are some highlights from the banquet...
Most Valuable Performer, Women's Team: Molly McNamara
Most Valuable Performer, Men's Team: Jack Krusinski
These two individuals scored the most points throughout the entire season!

Highest Overall GPA, Women's Team: Michaela Bargardi
Highest Overall GPA, Men's Team: Jared Stergar

Molly McNamara (200 IM), Cassie Oltman (100 and 200 Backstroke) and Lexie Kostelnik (1650 Freestyle) established new program records this season!
Giving thanks to our mentors!
Within our swimming & diving program, we discuss how important it is to thank individuals who have played an important role in mentoring us. All members of the program had the opportunity to invite a mentor to our 2nd annual Ice Cream Social. We are so thankful for all of the mentors who came to our event on Wednesday evening! Pictured above is Alana Cartwright (sophomore) and her mentor, Russ Revock. Alana has had Mr. Revock for a painting and 2-D printing class. They planned to wear matching tie-dye shirts to the ice cream social!
Volunteering at Special Olympics
Our programs volunteered as part of the Cleveland State University Special Olympics on Friday, April 12. Team members interacted with the kids and played basketball with them. Following the activities, team members helped with the pizza party for all of our Olympians!
Moving Forward
Scott Garrett has been named the newest Director of Athletics! Scott comes to Cleveland State after working for 9 years at Kansas State University. After coming on campus, Scott and members of the Athletic Department met with our student-athletes and updated them on the head coaching search. Scott is already compiling a list of potential head coaches and interviews will be starting in the next few weeks. The Athletic Department hopes to have a new leader for our Swimming & Diving programs by the beginning of June.
April Birthdays

Austin Harper (6th)
Stephanie Sipple (11th)
Jared Stergar (12th)
RJ Johnston (14th)
DJ Arslanian (17th)
Riley Drummond (19th)
Josh Hodges (19th)
Austin Spruill (22nd)
Tyler Stevenson (23rd)
Matt Martin (24th)
Claudia Zido (26th)
Alec Bowie (30th)

Upcoming Events

5/11: Commencement, 9:30 am and 2:00 pm
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