Skidmore College Athletics

Head Swimming & Diving Coach Jill Belding Greenleaf considers Douglas Pilawa '12 " the finest diver Skidmore has ever produced" - and this remarkable scholar-athlete has a roster of honors to prove it.
 
Despite chronic pain from a back injury, the English-French double major finished second in the 1 and 3 meter events at the Upper New York State Collegiate Swimming Association Championship his sophomore year (2009). After spending his junior year studying in Paris, Pilawa returned as a senior to capture first place in both 1 and 3 meter events at UNYSCSA, setting meet and association records by more than 20 points in the 3 meter (574.05). A top competitor at the Liberty League championships his entire career, Pilawa won both the 1 meter and 3 boards his sophomore year, finishing in first place on 1meter and second on 3 meter his senior year. He had a perfect 16-0 dual meet record as a senior and 44-6 career record.
 
The first Thoroughbred diver to represent Skidmore in national competition, Pilawa was also the first swimmer or diver to be named All-America; he earned Honorable Mention twice at the 2012 NCAA Division III championships, where he finished ninth on both boards. A two-time Liberty League Diver of the Year, he also scored UNYSCSA Diver of the Year and Skidmore Senior Athlete of the Year honors. All the while, he maintained a cumulative 3.78 grade point average and helped coach the Saratoga high school girls and boys diving teams. Pilawa also served as a peer mentor for a Scribner Seminar. Selected 2012 CoSIDA Academic All-America, he was also recognized with the Timothy Brown Scholar-Athlete Award that year.
 
Coach Greenleaf observes, "Doug is one of the finest examples of an integrated scholar-athlete I've ever known. He brought esteem to the program and the College."