PAC-10 Hands Out Women’s Swimming & Diving Awards

CALIFORNIA SWEEPS 2009 PAC-10 WOMEN’S SWIMMING HONORS
After winning its first NCAA team championship, California’s Dana Vollmer, Liv Jensen and Teri McKeever have been named the 2009 Pacific-10 Conference Women’s Swimmer, Newcomer and Coach of the Year, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

Vollmer, a Ganbury, Texas, native, led the Golden Bears in 2009 to their first Pac-10 and NCAA team championships. The senior was named the 2009 NCAA Swimmer of the Year after winning a pair of individual titles in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events. She also helped her team capture the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relay championships. At NCAA’s, she clocked in a personal-best time in the 100 free (47.17) and set a new NCAA meet record in the 200 free prelims (1:42.01). She finishes her career at Cal with three individual NCAA titles, having won the 100-yard butterfly in 2007, and five individual Pac-10 championships. She was also named the winner of the 2009 Honda Sports Award as the nation’s top collegiate female athlete in women’s swimming & diving.

Jensen, a freshman from Palo Alto, Calif., was a part of the 800-yard freestyle relay team, which set new school, NCAA, NCAA Championships, American and U.S. Open records with a time of 6:52.69 at the 2009 NCAA Championships. She set the tone early and finished her 200-yard split in 1:43.15. In the consolation final of the 100 free she swam a personal-best time of 48.26 in the prelims and in the consolation final of the 200 free she established a new personal mark of 1:44.81. She earned honorable mention All-America honors in the events, held in College Station, Texas. Jensen was also a member of Cal’s 800-yard freestyle relay team which won the Pac-10 title in a Conference record time of 6:56.87.

McKeever, in her 17th season at California, became the first woman to be credited with an NCAA swimming & diving team title. She was named the 2009 NCAA Coach of the Year and earns her third Pac-10 Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year honors. She led the Golden Bears to their first Pac-10 and NCAA Championships in school history. Under her tutelage, Cal has produced six Pac-10 Swimmers of the Year and has made 13 consecutive top-10 NCAA finishes.

USC’S ISHIMATSU AND LI CAPTURE 2009 PAC-10 WOMEN’S DIVING AWARDS
USC freshman Victoria Ishimatsu has been named the 2009 Pacific-10 Conference Women’s Diver and Newcomer of the Year, while her coach, Hongping Li, has been named Coach of the Year, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

Ishimatsu, a Seal Beach, Calif., native, becomes the third freshman in Pac-10 history to earn both Diver and Newcomer of the Year accolades in the same season. In her Pac-10 Championships debut, held in Federal Way, Wash., she won the 3-meter title, placed second on the 1-meter and finished seventh on the platform. She continued her success at the NCAA Zone E Championships, where divers qualify to compete at the NCAA Championships, taking second on the 1-meter and third on both the 3-meter and the platform events. Ishimatsu capped her freshman season by placing fifth on the 1-meter at the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas, garnering All-America honors.

Li, in his 10th season at the helm of the USC diving program, earns his sixth Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor. The Beijing, China native, has had eight divers earn All-America honors during his tenure at USC, including Ishimatsu this season. He has twice been named the NCAA Women’s Diving Coach of the Year (2002 and 2006). His eight men’s and women’s divers have combined to earn 29 All-America accolades and five NCAA titles.

The 2009 Pac-10 Men’s Diving awards will be announced Thursday, Apr. 9. The awards are determined by a vote of the league’s coaches.

Golden Bears Make a Clean Sweep in Pac-10 Awards
California women’s swimming head coach Teri McKeever, senior Dana Vollmer and freshman Liv Jensen earned top honors from the Pac-10 on Thursday as McKeever was selected as the Coach of the Year, Vollmer as the Swimmer of the Year and Jensen as the Newcomer of the Year.

McKeever, who has been at the helm of the women’s swimming program at Cal for 17 years, was also named the 2009 NCAA Coach of the Year. Under the direction of McKeever, the Golden Bears won their first Pac-10 and NCAA titles this year.  The NCAA Championship victory made McKeever the first woman to be credited with an NCAA swimming and diving team title. McKeever has taken the Cal program to new heights and is often regarded in the coaching circle as the sports' influential innovator, because of her unique training methods. Under McKeever's tutelage, the Golden Bears have produced six Pac-10 Swimmers of the Year, including three-time winner Natalie Coughlin and 13 consecutive top 10 NCAA finishes.

Vollmer, who on Wednesday was named as the 2009 recipient of Honda Award for Swimming and Diving (awarded to the country's top collegiate female athlete in swimming & diving), was also named the 2009 NCAA Swimmer of the Year after claiming individual titles in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events at the 2009 NCAA championships and helping lead her team to its first-ever national championship. She also helped her team claim titles in the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays. In the 100 free, Vollmer swam a personal-best time of 47.17, and also posted a time of 1:42.01, a new NCAA meet record, in the 200-yard freestyle prelims. She leaves Cal with three individual NCAA titles in three years (including a 100-yard butterfly championship in 2007). Vollmer was also instrumental helping the Bears win their first Pac-10 team title.

Jensen exploded on the scene in her first year with the Cal swimming program. The Palo Alto product posted the fastest time of the season and the second-fasted time in school history in the 50-yard free at 21.94. She was a part of the 800-yard freestyle relay team, which set new school, NCAA, NCAA Championships, American and U.S. Open records with a time of 6:52.69 at the 2009 NCAA  Championships. She set the tone early and finished her 200-yard split in 1:43.15. In the consolation final of the 100 free she swam a personal-best time of 48.26 in the prelims and in the consolation final of the 200 free she established a new personal mark of 1:44.81. She earned honorable mention All-America honors in the events, held in College Station, Texas. Jensen was also a member of Cal’s 800-yard freestyle relay team which won the Pac-10 title in a Conference record time of 6:56.87.