Lilly King Earns Big Ten Swimmer of the Year

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten announced the 2016 Big Ten Women’s Swimmer, Diver, Swimming Coach and Diving Coach of the Year awards, as voted on by the conference coaches. Indiana’s Lilly King was named unanimous Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, while Minnesota’s Yu Zhou was the unanimous pick for Big Ten Diver of the Year. Gopher diving coach Wenbo Chen earned Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year, while Indiana swimming coach Ray Looze secured Big Ten Swimming Coach of the Year plaudits.

King was named CSCAA Swimmer of the Year after claiming a pair of gold medals at last week’s NCAA Championships. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year claimed titles in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events, claiming the American, NCAA, NCAA Meet, U.S. Open, Indiana school, Big Ten and Georgia Tech Pool records in both swims. The freshman also contributed to seventh- and 10^th-place finishes in the 400-yard medley relay and 200-yard medley relay, respectively. Earlier this season, King also earned Big Ten titles in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events, 200- and 400-yard medley relays, while also finishing third in the 200-yard individual medley and sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay en route to first-team All-Big Ten honors. The honor marks the seventh time an Indiana swimmer has earned Swimmer of the Year accolades, and the first since Brooklynn Snodgrass in 2014.

Zhou earns Big Ten Diver of the Year for the second consecutive season after recording two top-five finishes at the 2016 NCAA Championships, finishing second in platform diving and fifth in the three-meter event. At the Big Ten Championships Zhou swept the diving events, and was named Big Ten Diver of the Championships for the second straight season. Zhou was named Big Ten Diver of the Week eight times during the 2015-2016 campaign, and claimed first-team All-Big Ten honors. Minnesota has claimed the Big Ten Diver of the Year award eight times, including six of the last seven years.

Looze collects Big Ten Swimming Coach of the Year accolades for the fourth time in his tenure as the women’s coach, while also earning it once for men’s swimming. He led the Hoosiers to a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, and a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Chen claimed Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and fourth time with the Gophers. He also won the award in 2004 as the head diving coach at Purdue. Chen coached three divers who contributed points to the Gophers’ 16^th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, including Jessica Ramberg, Lexi Tenenbaum and Zhou.