Dedication, hard work, intensity, teamwork: these are words used by two different coaches to describe three of the eight Geneseo athletes who received All-American honors this semester for their performances this past winter.
Senior forward Scott Morton received first team All-East Region and a second team NABC All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Geneseo's head basketball coach Steve Minton called Morton, "one of the hardest workers I've ever seen. I think what makes him so good, such a complete player, is his ability to slow the game down."
"It means a lot to me that I was named an All-American," said Morton. "It has shown me that all of my hard work and time as paid off and has made me better." He went on to credit his teammates for helping him accomplish this honorary status. Morton ends his Geneseo career in second place for points, third for assists and fourth place for steals.
Sophomore diver Wills DeMoulin finished 14th in one-meter diving at the NCAA championship meet and received honorable mention All-American with 413.45 points. DeMoulin also competed in the three-meter diving competition.
Like Morton, DeMoulin said that the award meant a great deal to him, personally. "I just worked hard all year … there haven't been a lot of All-American divers here at Geneseo," he said. DeMoulin continued by saying, "I'd like to be in the top eight on both boards. The sky is the limit, really."
Paul Dotterweich, the head coach of the swim team, referred to DeMoulin as "one of the hardest workers all year." Dotterweich also said, "[DeMoulin] worked incredibly hard over the summer to improve from a swimmer who never made it to states in high school to qualifying for the NCAAs."
Sophomore swimmer Michelle Rodriguez finished her season with six All-American certificates. Rodriguez won first team All-American recognition with an eighth place finish in a SUNYAC record time of 1:51.36 in the preliminaries and 1:51.80 in the finals of the 200-yard freestyle. Rodriguez also placed eighth in the 800-yard freestyle relay with fellow Geneseo All-Americans sophomore Alex Dockstader, sophomore Jennifer Anthone and junior Katie Linehan, with a SUNYAC record time of 7:36.89.
Dotterweich had nothing but praise for Rodriguez, calling her season "phenomenal." "Michelle has stepped up from a quality swimmer to quite possibly one of the best in the nation," Dotterweich said. "I believe that she could leave Geneseo as not only one of the most decorated swimmers in Geneseo history but possibly the most decorated athlete ever."
Rodriguez also won honorable mention All-American in four events, teaming up with the 800-yard freestyle relay team to receive honorable mention in the 200-yard freestyle relay, finishing 12th with a time of 1:36.82. The team also received honorable mention honors for their performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Their 400-yard time of 3:29.27 was good enough for 10th place and a set a SUNYAC record.
Rodriguez added honorable mention certificates in the 100-yard freestyle with a 15th place time of 51.97 and teamed with Dockstader and fellow All-Americans junior Sierra Achin and senior Lindsay Dressel for a 15th place time of 3:55.38 in the 400-yard medley relay.
Geneseo athletes also finished in first place for the Commissioner's Cup, an award for all-around sports excellence, for the second semester in a row, tallying 114.75 points to beat out Cortland's 109.75 points. Geneseo averaged 8.2 points per sport and received 10 points for men and women's swimming and diving.