USC's Ishimatsu named Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – USC’s Haley Ishimatsu was named the Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced on Saturday at the Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Men’s and Women’s Diving Championships. The award was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are exemplary both academically and in their sports discipline.

Ishimatsu (Seal Beach, Calif.) is the two-time defending NCAA and three-time Pac-12 champion on the platform. A three-time All-American, she also has one Pac-12 title on 3-meter and is a nine-time Pac-12 finalist as well as a four-time NCAA Zone E title winner. She competed in the 2008 Olympics who has won four U.S. National titles.

When she’s not winning titles, Ishimatsu maintains a 3.73 grade point average as a student studying sociology at USC. Ishimatsu was a member of the 2014 CoSIDA's Capital One Academic All-District 8 at-large team and earned honors on the 2014 Pac-12 All-Academic First Team.

In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.

A Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be named in each of the Pac-12’s 22 sponsored sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, men’s rowing, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s swimming & diving, women’s swimming & diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s track & field, women’s track & field, women’s volleyball, and wrestling.

The Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards were established during the 2007-08 academic year.

Other nominees included: – Elizabeth Pepper, ARIZ; Miranda Tornatore, ASU; Caroline Piehl, CAL; Fiona Majeau, STAN; Noelle Tarazona, UCLA; Amanda Barrett, UTAH; Allison Mand, WSU