Logan Shinholser | Junior | Burtonsville, Md.
Logan Shinholser got consideration for Inside Hokie Sports’ athlete of the year and deservedly so following a campaign that was as good as any diver in the country.
Shinholser, last year’s men’s swimming and diving athlete of the year, built on a sophomore season that saw him win an ACC championship and All-America honors in the platform event. This year, he earned All-America nods in all three diving events at the NCAA Championships held in Seattle, placing fifth in the 3-meter event, sixth in the platform event, and seventh in the 1-meter event. He was one of only three divers in the country to make the finals in all three events.
Before the NCAA Championships, Shinholser dominated at the ACC Championships held at the Hokies’ home pool, the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. He was named the ACC Diver of the Year after winning the 1- and 3-meter titles at the conference meet and finishing second in the platform event by less than a point.
Shinholser will be competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials in late June in hopes of making the Olympic team and competing at the Summer Olympics in London. Then he returns for a senior season in hopes of becoming the Hokies’ first national champion in a sport besides track and field.
Heather Savage | Junior | Canandaigua, N.Y.
Heather Savage etched her name in three record books this past season with a dominating junior campaign in which she won an ACC championship and earned an All-America award.
Her best performance came at the ACC Championships held at Tech’s home pool, the Christiansburg Aquatic Center. In a performance that head coach Ned Skinner called one of the finest in the program’s history, Savage won the 100-yard butterfly event in a school-record time of 52.14 seconds. That time also broke the ACC Championships’ meet record and the conference record. Maryland’s Megan Lafferty set the previous mark of 52.28 seconds last year at the ACC Championships.
Savage went on to finish seventh in the 100 butterfly at the NCAA Championships to earn the All-America nod. Her time of 52.16 seconds enabled her to bring in 12 points toward the team total.
Savage, who was one of six Tech women’s swimmers to qualify for the NCAA Championships, also qualified for the NCAAs in the 200 butterfly and the 100 backstroke.
Savage also received recognition for her work in the classroom, being named the ACC’s women’s swimming scholar athlete of the year. She majors in human nutrition, foods and exercise.
