The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) has announced award-winners for the 2021 NCAA Women’s Division I Championships and 2020-21 season, along with All-American recognition for the 2020-21 season.
CSCAA AWARD-WINNERS – 2021 NCAA WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING
- Coach of the Year: Todd DeSorbo, Virginia
- Diving Coach of the Year: Wenbo Chen, Minnesota
- Swimmer of the Year: Maggie MacNeil, Michigan
- Diver of the Year: Sarah Bacon, Minnesota
These selections match the SwimSwam awards, which were announced yesterday.
Virginia won its first-ever NCAA title last week in Greensboro, compiling six event titles and putting at least one swimmer into every A-final (or top-eight finish in the mile). UVA also had ten swimmers garner All-American first-team accolades and two second-team.
MacNeil won the award based on her individual wins in the 100 fly and 100 free, along with smashing the NCAA record in the 100 fly to become the first woman under 49 seconds in the event.
Bacon cleaned up on both springboard diving events, and her coach, Wenbo Chen, took home the diving coach of the year award to go along with her win. This is Chen’s fourth win, following recognition in 2017, 2015 and 2011.
The CSCAA determined these awards based on votes from D-I head swimming and head diving coaches at the NCAA Championships, and for the first time, one ballot went to the public via online polling. The public diverged from coach opinion on swimmer of the year, choosing NC State’s Sophie Hansson, who won both breaststroke events at NCAAs.
129 total athletes were named first-team All-Americans, with three swimmers achieving the maximum seven first-team awards (three individuals + four relays): Kylee Alons and Katharine Berkoff of NC State and Kate Douglass of Virginia. MacNeil won six first-team awards, as did Georgia’s Zoie Hartman and Texas’s Kelly Pash. An additional 92 individuals earned second-team honors.
In a year of, let’s be honest, less than spectacular times, Maggie MacNeil reached deep to find the dedication, focus, desire and professionalism to overcome the adversity of this lost year and post “All Time” great times. Fully deserving of the honour. The coaches made the right choice.
The public online polling is correct. Should be Sophie Hansson
Well Breezeway, what are you saying, the D-1 head Swim and Dive Coaches that got all the teams there to begin with are wrong? it was a vote of all applicable options considered for all that applied.
Yes. and I don’t see the word unanimous in the coach voting either
Online polling is a popularity contest. Waste of time.
I don’t mind it, so long as the impact is limited.
In this case, it’s 1 vote out of 30+, which I’m fine with.