STANDISH, ME – SJC men's swimming Head Coach Rick Horr has released his 2012 Team Awards. Four honors were given to deserving individuals following the end of the 2011-12 campaign.

Freshman Antonio Delvecchio (Middlebury, Conn.) is the team's Most Valuable Swimmer, first-year Stewart Emery (Augusta, Maine) claims the Most Improved honor, sophomore Thomas Smith (New Hartford, Conn.) has received the Sportsmanship Award, and the 2012 Monk Award recipient is freshman Preston Bowden (Biddeford, Maine).

Delvecchio earns Most Valuable Swimmer honors after recording three individual victories and four runner-up efforts during his first NCAA season. He broke the program's records for 200 Free (1:52.18) and 50 Fly (26.73) and competed in a pair of NEISDA Championship finals, the 200 Free (1:52.92, 10th) and 100 Free (50.96, 15th). Delvecchio also swam legs for four of the Monks' record-breaking relay teams in the NEISDA's, the 200 Medley, 400 Medley, 400 Free, and 800 Free events.

Emery claims Most Improved accolades after displaying solid improvement across the board during his first collegiate season. He competed in 30 individual events as a rookie with five third-place finishes and advanced to the NEISDA finals in the 200 Back, placing 16th with a 2:20.82 performance.

Smith received the team's Sportsmanship Award for the second-consecutive season after swimming in 30 individual events with one top finish and seven runner-up efforts during his sophomore season. He registered six personal-best times and helped the Royal Blue set new team records in all three NEISDA relay races in which he competed – the 200 Free (1:35.27), 400 Free (3:26.00), and 800 Free (7:46.32).

Bowden earned the team's Monk Award, which is given annually to the individual who best represents what it is to be a "Monks Swimmer," after competing in 30 individual races and nine relay events as a freshman. He swam in three NEISDA prelims and advanced to the finals in the 50 Back (29.29) and 100 Back (1:04.36), placing 14th and 16th, respectively, in the regional events.

The SJC men's swim team went 2-2 and recorded a fourth-place finish in the inaugural GNAC Championship under the watch of fourth-year Head Coach Rick Horr last winter. The Monks won their first-ever meet with a 127-111 triumph over Elms College on November 12th, 2011 and went on to top Gordon College, 141-80, on February 4th.