The Coaches Award and Geza Illes, Jr. Award
Given the Hellcats' traditions, it's no surprise that there has long been special recognition at the end of each season for the swimmer who showed particular leadership or made a particularly valuable contribution to the team. This was initially known as The Hillandale Coaches Award. But following the death of Geza Illes, a beloved Hellcat from 1981-1998, the honor became the Geza Illes, Jr. Award and has ever since been given to the individual "who best exemplifies the qualities of gracious sportsmanship, helpful teammate and inspirational leader."
The following Hellcats have been recognized over the past three decades:
1982 -- Bill Overman 1999 -- Reza Rock
1983 -- Sharon Madigosky 2000 -- Dana Myerson
1984 -- David Reichelt 2001 -- Sarah Donnelly
1985 -- Jim Birmingham 2002 -- Bilqis Rock
1986 -- Louise Wilkerson 2003 -- Elyssa Davis
1987 -- Jamelle Banks 2004 -- Tyler Wilcheck
1988 -- Josh McNally 2005 -- Emily Reynolds
1989 -- Chris Mundell 2006 -- Max Flicker
1990 -- Colleen Murphy 2007 -- Jewel Grisham
1991 -- Penny Dunn 2008 -- Amy Naylor
1992 -- Geza Illes 2009 -- Alex Freeman
1993 -- Julie Reichelt 2010 -- Gregory Ridgway
1994 -- Colleen Murphy 2011 -- Danny Ramin
1995 -- Matt Solomon 2012 -- Anna Olsson
1996 -- Erin Koepke 2013 -- Kohler Sukachevin
1997 -- Jennifer Williams 2014 -- Tucker Nosal
1998 -- Christy Richardson 2015 -- Matthew McNeil
2016 -- Mary Hippchen