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Pac-12 announces men's swimming awards

Apr 2, 2014

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - ARIZONA junior Kevin Cordes was tabbed Pac-12 Men’s Swimmer of the Year, CALIFORNIA freshman Ryan Murphy was voted Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and Cal head coach Dave Durden was named Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, the Conference office announced today. The awards were voted on by the Pac-12 head men’s swimming coaches. 

Cordes, a native of Naperville, Ill., continued a standout career at Arizona with record-setting performances at both the Pac-12 and NCAA Championships. The junior breaststroker was named NCAA Swimmer of the Meet after shattering both the 100 and 200 breast American records at the national championship meet, winning his second-consecutive NCAA title in both events. The performances capped a season that saw Cordes dominate the Conference championships, taking home the 100 and 200 breast titles in record fashion and also participating in the record-breaking 200 medley relay team. He swept all four Pac-12 Swimmer of the Month awards, giving him a Conference-record seven monthly accolades, four more than any other Pac-12 student-athlete. 

Murphy, a native of Ponte Verde, Fla., capped his freshman season with two NCAA individual titles en route to the Golden Bears’ second-consecutive NCAA Championship. The freshman took home the 100 and 200 backstroke championships individually while also swimming a leg of the champion 200 free relay, 400 medley relay and 200 medley relay teams. Murphy and the Bears team also captured the Pac-12 title for the second year in the row, as the freshman won the 100 and 200 backstroke at the Conference championships while also setting a school record in the 200 back. 

Durden was named the Pac-12 Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year for the fifth-consecutive year after leading the Golden Bears to both a Pac-12 and a NCAA Championship. The national title was Cal’s third in the past four years under Durden, following NCAA crowns in 2011 and 2012, and the fifth overall for the program. In the Conference meet, Durden’s Bears took home first place for their second-straight Pac-12 title after winning the meet last year for their first Conference championship since 1981.