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Pac-12 announces 2021 women's swimming & diving postseason awards

Mar 25, 2021

SAN FRANCISCO — The Pac-12 Conference announced today the recipients of the 2021 Pac-12 Women’s Swimming and Diving awards, as voted on by the league’s coaches. CALIFORNIA’s Isabel Ivey was named the Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year, while Golden Bears’ head coach Teri McKeever was voted Pac-12 Coach of the Year after leading the team to its first Conference title since 2015 and a fourth-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Championships. USC’s Kaitlyn Dobler was named the Pac-12 Swimming Freshman of the Year and ARIZONA’s Delaney Schnell earned Pac-12 Diver of the Year accolades, each winning two Pac-12 titles in 2021. USC’s Farrah Volpintesta won Pac-12 Diving Freshman of the Year honors, coached by Pac-12 Diving Coach of the Year, Hongping Li.

 

2021 WOMEN’S SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: Isabel Ivey, Jr., CALIFORNIA (Gainesville, Fla.)

  • Captured three individual titles (100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle) and contributed to two relay wins (400 medley, 200 freestyle) at the 2021 Pac-12 Championships, earning Swimmer of the Meet honors. 
  • First Cal swimmer to win three individual Pac-12 titles in a single Conference championship since Abbey Weitzeil (2019). 
  • Took third place in the 100 free (46.95) at the 2021 NCAA Championships, and finished fourth in the 100 fly (50.68) and 100 back (50.85). 
  • Moved into sixth place in Cal’s program record book in the 100 back and third all-time in the 100 free. 
  • Earned two Pac-12 Swimmer of the Week honors in 2021. 
  • Tallied 227.5 points across the Pac-12 and NCAA Championship events. 

2021 WOMEN’S SWIMMING FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kaitlyn Dobler, USC (Portland, Ore.)

  • Secured her first two Pac-12 Championship titles in the 100 (57.85) and 200 (2:06.53) breaststroke events. 
  • Became the first USC freshman to place first in multiple Conference championship events since Rebecca Soni (2006). 
  • Posted her first career A-final performance at the 2021 NCAA Championships, finishing as runner-up in the 100 breast (57.46). 
  • Added the sixth-best 50 free time (21.92) in school history, finishing third in the consolation final. 
  • Tallied 159 points across the Pac-12 and NCAA Championship events, second only to Isabel Ivey. 

2021 WOMEN’S SWIMMING COACH OF THE YEAR: Teri McKeever, CALIFORNIA

  • Led the Bears to their first Pac-12 title since 2015, holding off defending champion Stanford, 1519.5-1445. 
  • Cal swept all five relay events at the Conference championship and saw five swimmers (Isabel Ivey, Robin Neumann, Alicia Wilson, Isabelle Stadden, Rachel Klinker) capture individual titles. 
  • Coached Golden Bears to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the program’s 15th-straight finish in the top-five. 
  • Ten Cal swimmers finished in the top-20 of the Conference in points earned across both championship events. 
  • Ninth career Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor.

 

2021 WOMEN’S DIVER OF THE YEAR: Delaney Schnell, R-Jr., ARIZONA (Tucson, Ariz.)

  • The 2018 Pac-12 Women’s Freshman Diver of the Year won both of her events — 1-meter springboard and platform — at the 2021 Pac-12 Diving Championships, en route to Diver of the Meet honors. 
  • Won the Pac-12 1M event by nearly 30 points, posting a 345.45 score. 
  • Earned fourth place in the 1M at NCAA Championships, scoring 334.45 points and contributing 15 points to the Wildcats’ score. 
  • Broke the Pac-12 platform event record with a 383.35 prelims score, later winning the event (364.50) for a commanding victory of nearly 80 points. 
  • Finished second in the platform at NCAA Championships with a score of 331.80, earning ARIZONA 17 points. 

2021 WOMEN’S DIVING FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Farrah Volpintesta, USC (Bethel, Conn.)

  • Secured a top-10 finish at the Zone E Championships, placing 10th on platform 
  • Finished her first Pac-12 Championships final in eighth-place overall and second to Nike Agunbiade on her team, earning the Trojans 22 points in the 1M. 
  • Improved to seventh place on the 3M event, finishing third on her team behind Agunbiade and Savannah Stocker. 
  • Took 10th place in the platform competition, securing the best finish of all Pac-12 freshmen in each of the three diving events. 
  • USC’s second consecutive Freshman Diver of the Year honoree (Agunbiade, 2020) and sixth overall. 

2021 WOMEN’S DIVING COACH OF THE YEAR: Hongping Li, USC

  • Coached two divers who qualified for the NCAA Championships (Nike Agunbiade, Savannah Stocker). 
  • Helped lead USC to a fourth-place finish at the 2021 Pac-12 Swimming & Diving Championships, with Agunbiade winning the 3M event and placing second on both the 1M and platform. 
  • Coached Agunbiade to three top-25 finishes at NCAAs (ninth on platform, 14th on 1M, 24th on 3M) and Stocker to a 26th-place finish on 3M. 
  • 12-time Pac-12 Women’s Diving Coach of the Year recipient; also a five-time Men’s Diving Coach of the Year honoree.