Now, she can add top female athlete in Cincinnati to the list.
Volpenhein was named the LaRosa’s Female Athlete of the Year at a recent banquet in which classmate Elle Buffenbarger was also a finalist.
“It was extremely humbling,” Volpenhein said. “You hear everything each girl has accomplished and they are all very deserving. You think about all the hard work and how that hard work amounted to something, but looking around and knowing I wasn’t the only one there who spent four years working hard to achieve my goals.”
The LaRosa’s end-of-the-year banquet brings the top female athletes in the city together. Athletes are nominated for the honor, and a panel selects the finalists and the winner.
“It was great to be with other athletes from all over Cincinnati,” Volpenhein said. “You talk to these girls and you hear all the successes they have had and it is really great because they are people you wouldn’t normally get to meet and it is a great bonding experience.”
LaRosa’s also had its Hall of Fame inductees at the banquet, making it even more of an all-Mason affair with Angela Bizaarri being inducted in her first year of eligibility.
“Talking to the Hall of Famers and hearing them talk about what Cincinnati meant to them kind of hit home for me,” Volpenhein said. “I wasn’t even aware Angela was going to be there and that was really, really cool. It was awesome talking to her and hearing what Mason meant to her. I think it is a testament to how great female athletics are at Mason.”
And sharing the stage of finalists with Buffenbarger, a classmate, made the experience even better.
“It was so cool to have her there too,” Volpenhein said. “We talked about how it is kind of bittersweet because we are both looking back on everything we learned at Mason and are looking at a new chapter. But, I think we are both excited about going off and starting our college careers.”
Volpenhein will be swimming at Stanford this year, marking a lot of changes.
No longer the hunted, Volpenhein will go back to being a small fish in a big pond, which she hasn’t been since her freshman year.
It is a transition she had a chance to discuss with Zoe Thatcher at USA World Qaulifiers recently.
Thatcher was a multi-state champ who left Mason and went to Auburn to swim.
“I have so much to learn from Zoe,” Volpenhein said. “She is a great role model and really can give me a good idea of where I could be in the next four years.
“I just have to go and make a name for myself again.”
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