New York, NY |  On the heels of a tremendous four-year career in the pool and in the classroom, College of Staten Island senior Ewa Wojciechowska added to her incredible list of laurels tonight with Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors bestowed to her by the City University of New York Athletic Conference at the annual Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Banquet held at John Jay College this evening.  Wojciechowski shared top honors with CCNY’s Anthony Cacchione who took the same award on the men’s side.  Wojciechowska was also joined by CSI’s Brandon Lei (Men’s Swimming & Diving and Men’s Volleyball), and Christina Pasaturo (Women’s Basketball), who were named Honorable Mentions.

“I am very honored to receive this award,  If someone would have told me four years ago when I started at CSI that I would be here thanking all the people who helped me win an award like this, I never would have believed it,” she said.  “I was a lackluster high school student and the CUNY and CSI specifically gave me a chance.  So I want to thank all of the CUNY for believing in me and allowing me the opportunity to be successful.”

The Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Banquet is the closing showcase of the City University of New York Athletic Conference academic year.  Not only does the conference dole out its yearly Scholar-Athlete of Year awards at the Senior College and Community College levels (won this year by Borough of Manhattan Community College women’s volleyball player Stela Vaso and Kingsborough Community College men’s basketball player Asaph Charles), but the conference also acknowledges All-Americans spread across the sports year and presents its annual Commissioner’s Cup, awarded this year to the College of Staten Island for the first time in 17 years.

As for Wojciechowska, the award seemed destined for the CSI senior, who has achieved nothing short of excellence during her entire four-year career.  Easily the most decorated women’s swimmer in CSI history, when it comes to the classroom, Ewa is simply unmatched, sporting a perfect 4.0 GPA as an English Writing & Linguistics major. She is slated for graduation this May and plans to pursue High School English teaching through Teach America, a program that places qualified and exemplary teachers in under-represented and under-funded communities.

Although the load in the classroom became heavier with each passing year, Wojciechowska’s swim numbers improved alongside it, a testament to her incredible work ethic, practice regimen, and attention to detail. The results speak for themselves as individually and as part of relay teams is a part of 12 CSI team records and three more within the CUNYAC. She finished her career as the CUNYAC Performer of the Year, coinciding with her Preseason Player of the Year honor as well.
 
Prior to her phenomenal senior campaign, the Dolphins’ star swimmer had an incredible collegiate career, earning CUNYAC All-Star selection each year while achieving CUNYAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2015.  In addition, she was tabbed as the CUNYAC Championship Meet Co-MVP in 2017.

Swimming competitively since the age of 10, Wojciechowska stepped away from swimming at the age of 16, concentrating on her near-perfect academic pursuits that go as far back from the time she could walk.  She decided early that her pursuit of English Linguistics was her calling.  It wasn’t until her freshman year at CSI where she fell in love with the sport again.  A random visit to meet the coaching staff and to toe back into the water awakened her competitive drive.  The rest is history, literally, as almost a complete rewriting of the CSI history books has occurred during her four-year career.  The CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the year award is the culmination of an exceptional career, one that will have a hard time being topped any time soon.  

Wojciechowska addressed the crowd in attendance in receipt of her award.  In her acceptance speech, the senior noted the diligent work of her coaching staff, mentors, and faculty, as being fixtures for her success.  As a Division III athlete, Wojciechowska’s academic pursuits were just as important to the athletic program as her athletic pursuits, making for a perfect marriage and balance as a student-athlete.  Wojciechowska knows that the lessons learned in the pool complemented her efforts in the classroom and will be a valued takeaway in her professional career after college.
 
A member of the CSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-America Team, Wojciechowska was also the recipient of the CSI Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor, given to her last week at the CSI Annual Awards Banquet by Provost Dr. Gary Reichard.

POST EVENT INTERVIEWS