Jan. 22, 2015
RENO, Nev. - Five seniors that led Nevada swimming and diving's transition into the Mountain West and into the Abby Steketee era will compete at Lombardi Pool for the last time on Saturday.
Lauren Allen, Jocelin Drennan, Michelle Forman, Kaelie Reviglio and Luiza Vieira will be honored on Senior Day before Nevada (7-1) clashes with San Jose State (6-0). Action between the Wolf Pack and Spartans will get underway at 11 a.m. (PT), while the Senior Day ceremony will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the meet.
For Nevada's five seniors, Saturday's meet will highlight impressive individual careers, which helped usher a new era of Wolf Pack swimming, in addition to remarkable academic success.
"Not only did the program change with a new coaching staff, but the level of the competition took a huge step up when we entered the Mountain West," said head coach Abby Steketee. "It took a lot of faith in the program and toughness, but they met every challenge and helped take this team to where it's at today."
Since they arrived on campus in 2011, these five seniors have helped Nevada exceed expectations at the MW Championships in the past two seasons under Steketee while also leading the Wolf Pack's charge to contention in the MW and region.
Steketee attributes part of their accomplishments to their ability to align their goals with the direction of the program and strive for improvement rather than be thrown off guard by a change in coaching and conference.
"This group was special because their individual goals matched the new direction of the program perfectly," said Steketee. "We wanted to go in a direction of excellence in and out of the pool, and they all wanted to strike for that. I appreciate how they aligned their individual goals with our team goals and led that transition."
While success in the pool has been significant, this senior classes' biggest accomplishments have come in the classroom. All five seniors have lofty GPAs, are on course to graduate and already have plans post-graduation. Allen (Accounting), Drennan (Broadcast Journalism), Forman (Psychology), Reviglio (Biology) and Vieira (Journalism) have defined what it means to be a student-athlete.
Two of these seniors have been accepted to prestigious graduate programs, one already has a job arranged, another has a summer internship planned and one has plans to pursue a career while also training for the Olympics.
"This is a class - maybe more than any I've ever coached - that has really specific, lofty academic and career goals," said Steketee. "They've been great role models to our incoming freshmen that this is a four-year process not just in the pool, but much more than that. It can set you up for the rest of your life if you take advantage of it. They've each been complete student-athletes here."
Lauren Allen
Hometown: Corvallis, Ore.
Events: Freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke
Major: Accounting
Plans after graduation: Has a summer internship at an accounting firm in Portland, Ore., and then will take the CPA exam.
"Even in her last year of swimming, Lauren continues to expand her versatility. She puts the team first and is willing to swim any events that help Nevada score points. She is selfless when it comes to the team and is sensitive to her teammates' needs. Outside the pool, Lauren holds herself to extremely high academic standards and is an eager volunteer for community service or leadership opportunities," head coach Abby Steketee
Jocelin Drennan
Hometown: Midland, Texas
Events: Distance freestyle, IM and Butterfly
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Plans after graduation: To work as a TV reporter in hometown of Midland.
"Jocelin may be petite and soft-spoken, but she has a spirit of steel. She stays positive during distance freestyle workouts and long butterfly sets and absolutely hammers our dryland workouts. Jocelin is very considerate and brings special sincerity to everything she does," head coach Abby Steketee.
Michelle Forman
Hometown: Carson City, Nev.
Events: Mid-distance and distance freestyle
Major: Psychology and English
Plans after graduation: Pursue a Ph.D. in Applied Behavioral Analysis
"Michelle has an indomitable work ethic and competitive spirit. In constantly pushing herself, Michelle elevates the entire team's level of training. Michelle is focused from the time we do our first arm stretches at the beginning of practice until she hopes out of the pool after the last set. I will never forget how tenacious she was in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the Mountain West Championships last year. It was the first mile swim of her collegiate career and she nailed her pacing and fought like crazy to make the All-Conference team," head coach Abby Steketee.
Kaelie Reviglio
Hometown: Reno, Nev.
Events: Backstroke, IM and butterfly
Major: Biology
Plans after graduation: Attend dental school at UNLV in the fall of 2015
"Kaelie attacks challenges; she's taken lab after lab as a biology major and swims some of the hardest events in the pool with the 400 IM and 200 fly. She is remarkably industrious, but more importantly, she is caring. Kaelie's smile has brightened my day on many occasions and no one cheers more enthusiastically than Kaelie at meets," head coach Abby Steketee.
Luiza Vieira
Hometown: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Events: Backstroke
Major: Journalism with a minor in Communications
Plans after graduation: Chase dream of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in home country of Brazil while also pursuing a career as an international correspondent in media.
"Luiza has steadily gained momentum in the pool over her time at Nevada. I'm proud of her for setting new, challenging goals as she balances swimming with her love of journalism. Luiza's calm, steady mannerisms are a great source of comfort to her teammates, and conversations with Lu are always interesting," head coach Abby Steketee.
