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Pac-12 announces 2020 Women's Swimming and Diving postseason awards

Mar 24, 2020

SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: LOUISE HANSSON, USC
SWIMMING FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: EMMA WHEAL, STANFORD
SWIMMING COACH OF THE YEAR: DAVE SALO, USC
DIVER OF THE YEAR: MIA PAULSEN, STANFORD
DIVING FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: NIKE AGUNBIADE, USC
DIVING COACH OF THE YEAR: PATRICK JEFFREY, STANFORD

SAN FRANCISCO — The Pac-12 Conference announced the recipients of the 2020 Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Diving awards, as voted on by the league coaches. USC Trojans Louise Hansson was named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year and Dave Salo was voted Pac-12 Swimming Coach of the Year. STANFORD’s Emma Wheal was named the Pac-12 Swimming Freshman of the Year after helping the Cardinal collect its fourth-straight Pac-12 Championship title while teammate Mia Paulsen was named Pac-12 Diver of the Year with the Cardinal’s Patrick Jeffrey earning Pac-12 Diving Coach of the Year honors. USC’s Nike Agunbiade was tabbed Pac-12 Diving Freshman of the Year.

SWIMMER OF THE YEAR – Louise Hansson, Sr., USC (Helsingborg, Sweden)
Hansson (Helsingborg, Sweden) was named the 2020 Pac-12 Women’s Swimmer of the Year after winning three individual titles at the Pac-12 Championships, the most of any swimmer at the meet. The senior swimmer tacked on four top-three relay finishes, including victories in the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays. At the Pac-12 Championships, Hansson recorded a meet-high total of 155.5 points, helping the Trojans to a third-place finish. Her three individual and two relay titles in one conference meet is a Trojan record. Hansson was named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Meet as voted on by the swimming head coaches. She claimed the 200-yard individual medley a title with the eighth fastest in the country this year (1:54.09). She also nabbed her fourth-consecutive Pac-12 title in the 100-yard butterfly (49.94). Hansson is a second-year USC captain and was the 2019 national champion in the 100 and 200 butterfly events. USC earns it fifth Swimmer of the Year honor in Pac-12 history, its first since 2011.

SWIMMING FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Emma Wheal, Fr., STANFORD (Austin, Texas)
Wheal (Austin, Texas) was named the 2020 Pac-12 Swimming Freshman of the Year after helping the Cardinal to its fourth-consecutive Conference title. With a total of 104.5 points at the Pac-12 Championships, Wheal recorded the most points of any freshman, and the 12th-most overall, at the meet. Wheal’s highest finish at the conference championships came in the 100-yard butterfly where she finished fourth with a time of 52:16 and was the only freshman in the final. The freshman was a part of Stanford’s winning 200-yard medley squad and was the anchor in the second-place 200-yard freestyle relay. She took eighth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.42. Stanford tabs its 10th Freshman Swimmer of the Year honor in Pac-12 history, marking six-consecutive season that the Cardinal have earned the honor.

SWIMMING COACH OF THE YEAR – Dave Salo, USC
Salo was named the 2020 Pac-12 Swimming Coach of the Year for the second time in his Pac-12 after he was voted co-coach of the year in 2016. Salo led the Trojans to a third-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships, finishing with 1,212 points and marking the 10th time in the last 11 years the Trojans have placed top-three or better. On the season, USC finished with a 5-3 overall record, going 5-2 in conference meets. USC earns its fourth Swimming Coach of the Year award in Pac-12 history.

DIVER OF THE YEAR – Mia Paulsen, Jr., STANFORD (Atherton, Calif.)
Paulsen (Atherton, Calif.) was named the 2020 Pac-12 Diver of the Year after being named the Pac-12 Diver of the Meet at the conference championships, as voted on by the diving head coaches. Paulsen’s 82 total points at the event were the most of any diver and helped the Cardinal to its fourth-consecutive Pac-12 title. The junior was named the Pac-12 platform champion with her score of 311.40 and was the only diver to surpass 300 points in the event. Paulsen also took second in the 1-meter event with a score of 325.65, adding an eighth-place finish in the 3-meter with a score of 251.35. Stanford earns its ninth Diver of the Year honor in Pac-12 history, its first since 2016.

DIVING FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Nike Agunbiade, Fr., USC (Hillsborough, Calif.)
Agunbiade (Hillsborough, Calif.) was named the unanimous 2020 Pac-12 Diving Freshman of the Year. Agunbiade recorded 77 total points at the Pac-12 Championships, the most of any freshman diver and third-most of all divers. Agunbiade took second place in the 3-meter (302.80), third in the 1-meter (343.70) and seventh in the platform (236.80). She was the only freshman to finish in the top-three in two out of the three championship events. USC earns its fifth Freshman Diver of the Year Award in Pac-12 history, its first since 2013.

DIVING COACH OF THE YEAR – Patrick Jeffrey, STANFORD
Jeffrey was named the 2020 Pac-12 Diving Coach of the Year after leading Stanford to a top performance at the Pac-12 Championships. Jeffrey has been named the Pac-12 Men’s Diving Coach of the Year twice (2015, 2019) and was the Women's Diving Coach of the Year in 2016. Jeffrey led the Cardinal to five top-three finishes at the 2020 conference championships, including titles in the 3-meter and platform events. Jeffrey coached the Pac-12 Diver of the Meet and Diver of the Year Mia Paulsen. Under Jeffrey, three Stanford women qualified for the NCAA Championships in multiple events. Stanford earns its eighth Diving Coach of the Year Award in Pac-12 history, its first since 2016.