Matt Barany Named Finalist For Inaugural RVA Sports Award

RICHMOND, Va. – University of Richmond head swimming coach Matt Barany has been chosen as one of three finalists for Coach of the Year honors in the inaugural RVA Sports Award from the Richmond Region Tourism Foundation. Public fan voting will take place at RVASportsAwards.com in partnership with CBS6 until Jan. 15. Winners will be recognized at the RVA Sports Awards on Feb. 5.

Barany led the Spiders to their 16^th Atlantic 10 Championship last spring in one of the most unprecedented season in program history. Richmond brought home the A-10 title in convincing fashion, scoring 687.5 points, the most points for a winning team since Richmond won during the 2012-13 season (737.00).

Barany was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the 2020-21 season, his ninth career A-10 Coach of the Year award and his first since the 2017 season. He guided Alexa Connors to Richmond's 14^th Atlantic 10 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer award in program history. Overall, the 2020-21 team earned 13 individual All-Time Top 10 times, and broke three school records.

Additionally, Barany was named this fall to serve on the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Committee. He will serve in this role until August of 2025. Division I committees deal with issues that apply only to Division I, perform duties necessary to the ongoing operation of Division I and are comprised only of Division I members.

Finalists for the RVA Sports Awards include:

Brown Distributing Coach of the Year

Marcus Lewis – Varina High School (Football)
Matt Barany – University of Richmond (Women's Swimming)
Kara Bacile – Steward School (Girls' Basketball)

Techno Branded SWAG Female Athlete of the Year

Keira D'Amato – Individual Runner
Kaitlyn McNeel – Godwin High School and Richmond Volleyball Club
Cheta Emba – Team USA Rugby (Maggie Walker Governor's School)

SouthState Male Athlete of the Year

Emiliano Terzaghi – Richmond Kickers
Na'Shon "Bones" Hyland – Virginia Commonwealth University and Denver Nuggets
Chris Marston – Sportable

Synergy Technical Team of the Year

Chesterfield Little League Softball
Patrick Henry High School Boys Varsity Volleyball
Virginia Commonwealth University Baseball

Rebkee Moment of the Year

Richmond Raceway's 20th Anniversary 9/11 Tribute: The NASCAR and Xfinity Series races included a tribute to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The Flying Squirrels return to The Diamond: After a 610-day wait when MLB canceled the 2020 season, the Richmond Flying Squirrels returned to the field in front of a sellout crowd for the 11th consecutive season.
PONY League baseball players make history: Pitcher and hitter become second and third girls to play in the PONY Baseball World Series and first-ever to face one another as pitcher and hitter.

For more information on tickets, tables, and sponsorships visit www.RVASportsAwards.com.

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