{"id":482028,"date":"2021-07-21T12:28:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T19:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=482028"},"modified":"2021-07-21T12:28:04","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T19:28:04","slug":"sarah-bacon-named-big-ten-conference-female-athlete-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/sarah-bacon-named-big-ten-conference-female-athlete-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarah Bacon Named Big Ten Conference Female Athlete of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minnesota diver and four-time NCAA Champion Sarah Bacon<\/strong> has been named the Big Ten Conference Female Athlete of the Year, as announced by the Big Ten Conference Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

“I couldn’t be more honored to receive this award,” said Bacon. “There are so many incredible female student-athletes in the Big Ten, it’s just amazing to receive this honor among them. I have to thank my coaches and teammates, as well as my family and friends for helping me along the way.”<\/p>\n

Tuesday’s announcement makes Bacon only the fourth Gopher in any sport to secure the honor since the induction of the award in 1983, and the third since 2013, joining basketball’s Rachel Banham<\/strong> (2016) and hockey’s Amanda Kessel<\/strong> (2013). Minnesota swimmer Gretchen Hegener<\/strong> took home a share of the award in 1997 as well, making Bacon the second winner in program history.<\/p>\n

Sarah Bacon is also only the second diver to secure the award and the first to do so outright, following Michigan State’s 1991 co-recipient Julie Farrell-Ovenhouse<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“Sarah is so deserving of any and all recognition she gets after the career she has had,” said Minnesota head coach Kelly<\/strong> Kremer<\/strong>. “She now has such a massive place in our history that we’ll need to build a room specifically for her! I’m really happy for her, she deserves this more than anyone.”<\/p>\n

The Indianapolis native earned the nod after an incredibly successful 2020-21 campaign, for which she has earned a multitude of awards at the local, conference and national levels. Those include:<\/p>\n