Trojan Candy arrived fairly early for Swim with Mike.
John introduced Bruce Furniss as the Swim with Mike Claire Snow Volunteer of the Year. Becky Gramstrup gave Bruce his award. Bruce introduced his family who were in attendance. Sixteen members of the Furniss family have attended USC, and all four of Bruce's children are Trojans. The Furniss Family and friends have established a "Furniss Family and Friends" endowed USC scholarship. What a Trojan Family! FIGHT ON, Furniss Family!
Now it was time for the two USC students, who are Swim with Mike scholarship recipients, to speak. The first student was Zack Wentz. Zack played all sports, but his main sport was tennis. He was the MVP on his high school tennis team. Unfortunately, a ski related accident in Venice, Italy, paralyzed him from the waist down. Zack said that he has received much "love and support" here at USC. He is a Trojan Knight and the Director of Accessibility Affairs in Student Government. Zack said, with the help of his Trojan Knight friends, he was able to swim sixteen laps this year in Swim with Mike. Zack is majoring in Economics. FIGHT ON, Zack!
The second Swim with Mike scholarship recipient to speak was Amberley Snyder. As a child, Amberley competed in rodeo. She won many awards and at 18 was the Senior World All-Around Champion. After her car accident she was paralyzed from the waist down. But, Amberley competed again in rodeo. She is the only professional paralyzed rodeo competitor in the United States. Coach John Baxter saw Amberley ride one night. After finding out that she was paralyzed, Coach Baxter informed her about the Swim with Mike scholarships. Amberley is pursuing a M.S. in School Counseling. FIGHT ON, Amberley!
The ceremony ended and it was time for the "Football Player/Song Girl Swim Relay" to start. Trojan Candy just turned around from the stage and there they were.
As the players got out of the pool, Trojan Candy took pictures of them.
As I was leaving the barbecue, Trojan Candy got this last picture of Chase McGrath, Damon Johnson (2/1/2017) and Jake Olson (2/4/2015).
What a busy, exciting day!
FIGHT ON, Swim with Mike!
During the USC Men's Tennis match vs the Bruins, Trojan Candy saw several friends in the stands.
Daniel is a USC Men's Tennis alumnus who played on four NCAA Tennis Championship teams in a row in 2009 through 2012. He was chosen the MVP of the 2010 Championship. He is playing on the ATP World Tour. FIGHT ON, Daniel!
Shortly after taking Daniel's picture, I saw good friend Ray Sarmiento (3/11/2011) before he walked into the training room downstairs and took his picture. He won three NCAA Tennis Championship rings in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Ray told me he is injured and is taking some time off from the ATP World Tour. It is so nice to see Ray every year and catch up with him. FIGHT ON, Ray!
My last friend whom I saw today was 2017 USC Men's Tennis graduate David Laser (4/15/2017). David flew in for the weekend to see the USC-UCLA match. Just like when he was on the team, he was quite vocal during the game.
Unfortunately, David's enthusiasm did not help us beat the Bruins. We lost 3-4.
FIGHT ON, David!