Caeleb Dressel, Olivia Smoliga Named SEC Swimmers of the Year

Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold / Aringo Photos

The Southeastern Conference announced its annual men’s and women’s swimming & diving awards to cap the 2016-17 season.

Caeleb Dressel of Florida was named the Male Swimmer of the Year for the second consecutive year. At the 2017 NCAA Championships, Dressel won individual titles in the 50 free, 100 fly and 100 free to help the Gators earn a third-place finish. He now ranks second in program history with six national titles to his credit. Dressel also finished first in the same three events at the 2017 SEC Championships.

Olivia Smoliga of Georgia was named the Female Swimmer of the Year. Smoliga took first place in the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, 100 backstroke and 100 free at this year’s SEC Championships. She earned second place in the 50 free, 100 back and 100 free at the 2017 NCAA Championships last month.

Liam Stone of Tennessee was tabbed the Male Diver of the Year. He set the SEC meet record in the 1-meter springboard with a final score of 468.30. Stone also took third place in the 3-meter and 10th in the platform at the SEC Championships. At the NCAA Championships, he took fourth in both the 1-meter and the 3-meter.

Lauren Reedy of Missouri was chosen as the Female Diver of the Year. She won the 1-meter and took fifth in the 3-meter at the SEC Championships this season. Reedy earned a ninth-place finish in both the 1-meter and the 3-meter at the NCAAs.

Maxime Rooney of Florida was selected as the Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year. He was a part of the foursome that finished second in the 400 free relay and third in the 800 free relay, while taking sixth place in the 200 free at the NCAA Championships. Rooney took the top spot in the 200 free at the SEC Championships, and was a member of the winning 400 and 800 free relay teams.

Asia Seidt of Kentucky was tabbed the Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year. She won the 200 back at the SEC Championships, and finished third in the 100 back and fourth in the 200 IM. Seidt took third in the 200 back and eighth in the 200 IM at the NCAA Championships.

Juan Hernandez of LSU and Allison Maillard of Auburn were selected as the Freshman Divers of the Year. Hernandez set the SEC meet record in the men’s platform and earned a second-place finish in the 1-meter and the 3-meter. Maillard finished eighth in the 3-meter and women’s platform as well as ninth in the 1-meter.

Connor Oslin of Alabama claimed the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. Oslin, who won a share of this award last season, is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and a three-time CSCAA Scholar All-American with a 3.93 grade point average in biology (pre-med).

Chantal Van Landeghem of Georgia and Sarah Gibson of Texas A&M share this year’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. Van Landeghem was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and was named the organization’s 2016 Dean William Tate Scholar, an award given annually to an outstanding inductee having earned a perfect 4.0 in his or her field of study. A senior studying psychology, she is Georgia’s first-ever student-athlete to receive the award. Gibson, recipient of the 2017 SEC Commissioner’s Trophy, will graduate in May 2017 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering while carrying a perfect 4.0 GPA. She was a 2016 first-team Academic All-American and a President’s Endowed Scholar.

Gregg Troy of Florida was voted the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year. Troy led the Gators to the program’s fifth consecutive and 38th overall SEC Championship title in February along with a third-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships.

Steve Bultman of Texas A&M was selected as the Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year. The Aggies won their second consecutive SEC title in February and earned a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish in program history.

Doug Shaffer of LSU was named the Men’s Diving Coach of the Year. Shaffer led his squad to seven top-10 finishes at the SEC Championships.

Todd Sherritt of South Carolina was selected the Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. Sherritt earned this honor after his divers took first place in the 3-meter and platform events at this year’s SEC Championships.

Male Swimmer of the Year: Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Male Freshman of the Year: Maxime Rooney, Florida
Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Gregg Troy, Florida
Male Diver of the Year: Liam Stone, Tennessee
Male Freshman Diver of the Year: Juan Hernandez, LSU
Men’s Diving Coach of the Year: Doug Shaffer, LSU
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Connor Oslin, Alabama

Female Swimmer of the Year: Olivia Smoliga, Georgia
Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year: Asia Seidt, Kentucky
Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Steve Bultman, Texas A&M
Female Diver of the Year: Lauren Reedy, Missouri
Female Freshman Diver of the Year: Allison Maillard, Auburn
Women’s Diving Coach of the Year: Todd Sherritt, South Carolina
Co-Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year: Chantal Van Landeghem, Georgia & Sarah Gibson, Texas A&M

Commissioner’s Trophy
Men
Caeleb Dressel, Florida

Women
Sarah Gibson, Texas A&M

All-SEC First Team
Men
Anton McKee, Alabama
Connor Oslin, Alabama
Christopher Reid, Alabama
Michael Duderstadt, Auburn
Khader Baqlah, Florida
Jack Blyzinskyj, Florida
Chandler Bray, Florida
Mitch D’Arrigo, Florida
Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Bayley Main, Florida
Enzo Martinez-Scarpe, Florida
Maxime Rooney, Florida
Jan Switkowski, Florida
Mark Szaranek, Florida
Pace Clark, Georgia
Chase Kalisz, Georgia
Juan Celaya-Hernandez, LSU
Akaram Mahmoud, South Carolina
Fynn Minuth, South Carolina
Liam Stone, Tennessee
Tyler Henschel, Texas A&M

Women
Ashley Neidigh, Auburn
Chelsea Britt, Georgia
Veronica Burchill, Georgia
Emily Cameron, Georgia
Meghan Raab, Georgia
Olivia Smoliga, Georgia
Chantal Van Landeghem, Georgia
Geena Freriks, Kentucky
Asia Seidt, Kentucky
Lauren Reedy, Missouri
Allyson Nied, South Carolina
Julia Vincent, South Carolina
Madeline Banic, Tennessee
Meghan Small, Tennessee
Lisa Bratton, Texas A&M
Jorie Caneta, Texas A&M
Béryl Gastaldello, Texas A&M
Sarah Gibson, Texas A&M
Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M
Katie Portz, Texas A&M
Claire Rasmus, Texas A&M

All-SEC Second Team
Men
Laurent Bams, Alabama
Robert Howard, Alabama
Luke Kaliszak, Alabama
Pavel Romanov, Alabama
Zane Waddell, Alabama
Zach Apple, Auburn
Kyle Darmody, Auburn
Peter Holoda, Auburn
Ziv Kalontarov, Auburn
Scott Lazeroff, Auburn
Luis Martinez, Auburn
Hugo Morris, Auburn
Joe Patching, Auburn
Gunnar Bentz, Georgia
Taylor Dale, Georgia
Jay Litherland, Georgia
Kevin Litherland, Georgia
Michael Chadwick, Missouri
Daniel Hein, Missouri
Andrew Sansoucie, Missouri
Fabian Schwingenschloegl, Missouri
Cody Bekemeyer, South Carolina
Nils Wich-Glasen, South Carolina
Kyle Decoursey, Tennessee
Turker Ayar, Texas A&M
Cory Bolleter, Texas A&M
Brock Bonetto, Texas A&M
Mauro Castillo Luna, Texas A&M

Women
Bridget Blood, Alabama
Bailey Scott, Alabama
Ashton Ellzey, Auburn
Erin Falconer, Auburn
Julie Meynen, Auburn
Allyx Purcell, Auburn
Alyssa Tetzloff, Auburn
Autumn Finke, Florida
Megan Kingsley, Georgia
Meryn McCann, Georgia
Kylie Stewart, Georgia
Rachel Zilinskas, Georgia
Kendal Casey, Kentucky
Ali Galyer, Kentucky
Danielle Galyer, Kentucky
Rebecca Hamperian, Kentucky
Madison Winstead, Kentucky
Lizzie Cui, LSU
Hannah Stevens, Missouri
Erika Brown, Tennessee
Colleen Callahan, Tennessee
Rachel Rubadue, Tennessee
Kira Toussaint, Tennessee
Bethany Galat, Texas A&M
Madison Hudkins, Texas A&M
Alais Kalonji, Texas A&M
Lexie Lupton, Texas A&M
Kristin Malone, Texas A&M
Ashley McGregor, Texas A&M
Amy Miller, Texas A&M

All-Freshman Team
Men
Zane Waddell, Alabama
Petter Fredriksson, Auburn
Santiago Grassi, Auburn
Khader Baqlah, Florida
Chandler Bray, Florida
Maxime Rooney, Florida
Javier Acevedo, Georgia
Clayton Forde, Georgia
Walker Higgins, Georgia
Juan Celaya-Hernandez, LSU
Karl Luht, LSU
Daniel Hein, Missouri
Micah Slaton, Missouri
Taylor Abbott, Tennessee

Women
Ayumi Macias, Arkansas
Alison Maillard, Auburn
Julie Meynen, Auburn
Emma Ball, Florida
Veronica Burchill, Georgia
Meryn McCann, Georgia
Ali Galyer, Kentucky
Asia Seidt, Kentucky
Madison Winstead, Kentucky
Albury Higgs, South Carolina
Spence Atkins, Tennessee
Meghan Small, Tennessee

Press release courtesy of the SEC.

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