Pac-10 Hands Out Men's Swimming & Diving Awards

California Adrian, Stanford’s La Tourette, Kenney Earn 2009 PAC-10 Men’s Swimming Awards
California sophomore Nathan Adrian has been named the 2009 Pacific-10 Conference Men’s Swimmer of the Year, while STANFORD’s Chad La Tourette and Skip Kenney have earned Newcomer of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

Adrian, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, becomes the fifth Golden Bear to earn Pac-10 Swimmer of the Year accolades. At the Conference championships in Long Beach, Calif., the sophomore was named the Pac-10 Swimmer of the Meet after claiming the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle titles. The Bremerton, Wash., native won the 50 free in a Pac-10 and American record time of 18.82, breaking his own school record set in December. Adrian also swam the freestyle leg of the Bears’ 400 medley relay team which won the Pac-10 title in an NCAA record time of 3:03.30. His success continued at the 2009 NCAA Championships in College Station Texas. Adrian gave Cal its first national title in the 50 free since 2000, touching in at an American record time of 18.71. He won his second individual event in the 100 free, setting another American record with a time of 41.80. He was also a member of the Bears’ 200 medley relay team which finished second in an NCAA-record time of 1:22.50.

La Tourette is the second straight Cardinal to be named Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year and the fourth overall. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native captured the Pac-10 title in the 1650 free by recording the third-fastest time in Stanford history (14:39.01) and finishing more than five seconds faster than the event’s runner-up. The freshman was the Cardinal’s top finisher in the 500 free, placing third with a time of 4:16.29. At the NCAA Championships, La Tourette broke the school’s 1650 free record with a time of 14:33.55 to finish as the NCAA runner-up. He also finished 11th in the 500 free to lead the way for Stanford.

Kenney guided Stanford to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the ninth straight top-three finish and the 28th consecutive top-four showing for the Cardinal. In his 29th season at the helm of the program, Stanford extended its Pac-10 Championship winning streak to 28 years. The 28-straight Conference championships is the longest such streak for any sport in the nation. This marks the 20th Pac-10 Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year honor of Kenney’s career.

The awards are determined by a vote of the league’s coaches.

USC’S Jones and Li Garner 2009 PAC-10 Men's Diving Awards
USC’s Harrison Jones has been named the 2009 Pacific-10 Conference Men’s Diver and Newcomer of the Year and USC head diving coach Hongping Li has been named Coach of the Year, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

Jones capped off a stellar freshman season by becoming USC’s first diver in 10 years to earn multiple All-American honors in the same season. The Spring, Texas, native finished fourth on the 1-meter and sixth on the platform at the NCAA Championships, held in College Station, Texas, to earn the honors. At the Pac-10 Championships, Jones captured the platform crown with 417.60 points, outscoring the second-place finisher by 54.10 points. It was USC’s first Pac-10 men’s diving title since 2006. He also placed second on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards at the Conference championships.

Li, in his 10th season at the helm of the USC diving program, earns his first Pac-10 Men’s Diving Coach of the Year honor and his seventh Pac-10 Coach of the Year accolade overall. The Beijing, China native, has had eight divers earn All-America honors during his tenure with the Trojans, including Jones 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 awards are determined by a vote of the league’s coaches.