Alabama’s Kristian Gkolomeev, Texas A&M’s Sarah Henry Win SEC Swimmer of the Year Awards

Photo Courtesy: Kelly Price

BIRMINGHAM – The Southeastern Conference announced its annual men’s and women’s swimming & diving awards to cap the 2014-15 season.

Alabama’s Kristian Gkolomeev was named the Male Swimmer of the Year. At the 2015 SEC Championships, Gkolomeev won the 50 free in a time of 18.64 and 100 free at 41.68. He also swam the leadoff leg of the first-place 200 medley relay team and anchor for the 400 medley relay squad. The sophomore went on to win the 2015 NCAA 100 freestyle title with a final time of 41.56.

Texas A&M’s Sarah Henry was named the Female Swimmer of the Year. At the 2015 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, she set the pool record in the 400 IM with a winning time of 4:02.47. Henry also finished third in the 500 free, and took fourth in the 1650 free and as part of the 800 free relay team. At the SEC Championships, she finished second in the 400 IM and with the 800 free relay, and captured third place in the 500 free and 1650 free.

Fraser McKean of Auburn received the Male Diver of the Year award. He took first place in the platform at the 2015 SEC Championships, recording a final score of 451.95. McKean also finished in the top 10 at the SEC Championships in the 1-meter (seventh) and 3-meter (fifth) events. At the NCAA Championships, he took fifth place in the platform and sixth in the 3-meter.

Rebecca Hamperian of Kentucky was chosen as the Female Diver of the Year. She was runner-up in the 1-meter at the SEC Championships this season, and took fourth place in the same event at the NCAA Championships. Hamperian also earned a seventh-place finish in the women’s platform at NCAAs.

Florida’s Caeleb Dressel was selected as the Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year. He became the first Gator ever to win the 50 free at the NCAA Championships, touching the wall first in a time of 18.67. It was the first time a Florida freshman won an individual title in 13 years. At the SEC Championships, he won the 100 fly (45.28) while taking second in the 50 and 100 free.

Texas A&M’s Béryl Gastaldello was tabbed the Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year. She set the meet record in the 100 fly at the SEC Championships with a time of 50.87. Gastaldello earned second place in the 100 back along with the 200 and 400 medley relay teams.

Tennessee’s Liam Stone and Georgia’s Olivia Ball were selected as the Freshman Divers of the Year. Stone set the meet record in the 3-meter with a final score of 463.50, and came in seventh place in the same event at the NCAA Championships. Ball took the top spot in the 3-meter at the SEC Championships with a total score of 375.80. She was the top freshman and fourth overall in the 1-meter.

Georgia’s Nicolas Fink was named as the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Fink concluded his collegiate career as a 19-time All-American, the second highest total in school history. He became the first Bulldog and the second male in SEC history to win the 100 breaststroke all four years. The senior holds a 3.80 GPA in agricultural engineering.

Kentucky’s Danielle Galyer was chosen as the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Galyer won the SEC title in the 200 backstroke, and placed fourth overall in the same event at the NCAA Championships. She earned four All-America honors in 2015, placing in the top 15 in every race she competed in at the NCAA Championships. The sophomore has a 4.00 GPA in psychology.

Gregg Troy of Florida was voted the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year. Troy led the Gators to the program’s third-straight and 36th overall SEC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship title in February, as well as a fifth-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship.

Georgia’s Jack Bauerle was chosen the Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year. The Lady Bulldogs won their six consecutive and 12th overall SEC Championship, all under the guidance of Bauerle. In the last 17 years, the Georgia women have finished either first or second at the NCAA Championship 14 times.

Dave Parrington of Tennessee was named the Men’s Diving Coach of the Year. Parrington, who was previously voted the Men’s Diving Coach of the Year seven times, led his divers to win both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events at the 2015 SEC Championships.

Ted Hautau of Kentucky was selected the Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. Hautau earned this honor for the first time after having two divers finish in the top eight of all three women’s diving events at the 2015 SEC Championships. The Kentucky women finished seventh in the final team standings with 614 points, the Wildcats’ best finish at the conference championships since 2011.

Male Swimmer of the Year: Kristian Gkolomeev, Alabama

Male Freshman of the Year: Caeleb Dressel, Florida

Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Gregg Troy, Florida

Male Diver of the Year: Fraser McKean, Auburn

Male Freshman Diver of the Year: Liam Stone, Tennessee

Men’s Diving Coach of the Year: Dave Parrington, Tennessee

Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Nicolas Fink, Georgia

Female Swimmer of the Year: Sarah Henry, Texas A&M

Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year: Béryl Gastaldello, Texas A&M

Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Jack Bauerle, Georgia

Female Diver of the Year: Rebecca Hamperian, Kentucky

Female Freshman Diver of the Year: Olivia Ball, Georgia

Women’s Diving Coach of the Year: Ted Hautau, Kentucky

Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Danielle Galyer, Kentucky

Commissioner’s Trophy

Men

Chase Kalisz, Georgia (90 points)

Women

Hali Flickinger, Georgia (88 points)

All-SEC First Team

Men

Kristian Gkolomeev, Alabama

Alex Gray, Alabama

Luke Kaliszak, Alabama

Anton McKee, Alabama

Connor Oslin, Alabama

Brett Walsh, Alabama

Kyle Darmody, Auburn

Michael Duderstadt, Auburn

Arthur Mendes, Auburn

Fraser McKean, Auburn

Jacob Molacek, Auburn

Nicholas Alexiou, Florida

Mitch D’Arrigo, Florida

Caeleb Dressel, Florida

Dan Wallace, Florida

Pawel Werner, Florida

Nicolas Fink, Georgia

Chase Kalisz, Georgia

Matias Koski, Georgia

Tynan Stewart, Georgia

Sean Lehane, Tennessee

Mauricio Robles, Tennessee

Peter Stevens, Tennessee

Liam Stone, Tennessee

Jacob Thulin, Tennessee

Troy Tillman, Tennessee

Women

Kaylin Burchell, Alabama

Natalie Hinds, Florida

Amelia Maughan, Florida

Theresa Michalak, Florida

Jessica Thielmann, Florida

Olivia Ball, Georgia

Hali Flickinger, Georgia

Lauren Harrington, Georgia

Madeline Locus, Georgia

Brittany MacLean, Georgia

Jordan Mattern, Georgia

Amber McDermott, Georgia

Olivia Smoligia, Georgia

Chantal Van Landeghem, Georgia

Christina Bechtel, Kentucky

Danielle Galyer, Kentucky

Alex Bettridge, LSU

Cassie Weil, LSU

Harper Bruens, Tennessee

Amanda Carner, Tennessee

Anna DeMonte, Tennessee

Molly Hannis, Tennessee

Faith Johnson, Tennessee

Béryl Gastaldello, Texas A&M

All-SEC Second Team

Men

Pavel Romanov, Alabama

Hugo Morris, Auburn

Joe Patching, Auburn

Jack Blyzinskyj, Florida

Matt Curby, Florida

Arthur Frayler, Florida

Christian-Paul Homer, Florida

Corey Main, Florida

Carlos Omana, Florida

Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez, Florida

Mark Szaranek, Florida

Gunnar Bentz, Georgia

Alec Cohen, Georgia

Taylor Dale, Georgia

Ian Forlini, Georgia

Frank Greeff, LSU

Daniel Helm, LSU

Carter Griffin, Missouri

Clark Thomas, Missouri

Sam Tierney, Missouri

Nils Wich-Glasen, South Carolina

Sam McHugh, Tennessee

Ford McLiney, Texas A&M

Women

Nikki Daniels, Arkansas

Ashton Ellzey, Auburn

Megan Fonteno, Auburn

Valerie Hull, Auburn

Natasha Lloyd, Auburn

Allyx Purcell, Auburn

Jillian Vitarius, Auburn

Taylor Katz, Florida

Ashlee Linn, Florida

Lindsey McKnight, Florida

Kahlia Warner, Florida

Kylie Stewart, Georgia

Annie Zhu, Georgia

Rebecca Hamperian, Kentucky

Patti Kranz, South Carolina

Lauren Lamendola, South Carolina

Meredith Vay, South Carolina

Amy Lubawy, Tennessee

Cherelle Thompson, Tennessee

Kelli Benjamin, Texas A&M

Sammie Bosma, Texas A&M

Lisa Bratton, Texas A&M

Sarah Gibson, Texas A&M

Sarah Henry, Texas A&M

Lili Ibanez Lopez, Texas A&M

Franko Jonker, Texas A&M

Kristin Malone, Texas A&M

Sycerika McMahon, Texas A&M

Laura Norman, Texas A&M

Meredith Oliver, Texas A&M

Ellen Quirke, Texas A&M

All-Freshman Team

Men

Christopher Reid, Alabama

Peter Holoda, Auburn

Jacob Molacek, Auburn

Hugo Morris, Auburn

Pete Turnham, Auburn

Zack Warner, Auburn

Caeleb Dressel, Florida

Mark Szaranek, Florida

Gunnar Bentz, Georgia

Ian Forlini, Georgia

Jay Litherland, Georgia

Kevin Litherland, Georgia

Levi Lindsey, Kentucky

Hunter Fritter, Missouri

Akram Mahmoud, South Carolina

Tom Peribonio, South Carolina

Nils Wich-Glasen, South Carolina

David Heron, Tennessee

Sam McHugh, Tennessee

Peter Stevens, Tennessee

Liam Stone, Tennessee

Tyler Henschel, Texas A&M

Women

Amelia Maughan, Florida

Olivia Ball, Georgia

Megan Kinglsey, Georgia

Meaghan Raab, Georgia

Kylie Stewart, Georgia

Courtney Weaver, Georgia

Bridgette Alexander, Kentucky

Madison Sthamann, LSU

Sharli Brady, Missouri

Hannah Stevens, Missouri

Meredith Vay, South Carolina

Lisa Bratton, Texas A&M

Bethany Galat, Texas A&M

Béryl Gastaldello, Texas A&M

Madison Hudkins, Texas A&M

Kristin Malone, Texas A&M

Laura Norman, Texas A&M

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworl d .com.

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