University Southern California Trojans
Hosszu, Ishimatsu, Li Earn Pac-10 Top Honors
April 07, 2011 | Women's Swimming & Diving
April 7, 2011
Juniors Katinka Hosszu and Victoria Ishimatsu were tabbed as the Pac-10's 2011 Women's Swimmer and Diver of the Year, respectively, while head diving coach Hongping Li was named 2011 Women's Diving Coach of the Year, the conference announced Thursday (April 7).
Hosszu is only USC's second Pac-10 Women's Swimmer of the Year, though Kristine Quance earned the honor three times, last in 1997. Ishimatsu's award is her third in a row and she becomes the first woman to win Pac-10 Diver of the Year three consecutive seasons (USC's Blythe Hartley won the honor four times, but not three times in a row).
Li's distinction marks the seventh time in 11 years as USC's head diving coach that he was named Pac-10 Women's Diving Coach of the Year.
Hosszu, last week, won the prestigious Honda Sports Award for swimming, given to the NCAA's top female swimmer. She was the only swimmer to win three titles at this year's NCAA Championships, capturing the 200y IM, 400y IM and 200y fly. She set an NCAA meet record in the 400y IM and led the Trojans to a third-place finish at the meet, its best since 2003. She was named Swimmer of the Meet at the NCAA as well as at the Pac-10 Championships, where she won the same three titles (200 IM, 400 IM, 200 fly). She was a five-time 2011 All-American, adding the 400y medley and 800-yard free relays at the NCAAs, giving her 13 career All-American honors.
 Victoria Ishimatsu is the first woman to win the Pac-10 Women's Diver of the Year Award three years in a row.  | |
Ishimatsu became a five-time career Pac-10 champion earlier this year with conference titles on 1-meter (her second) and 3-meter (her third). She was also fourth on platform and was named Pac-10 Female Diver of the Meet. Earlier in the season, Ishimatsu qualified on all three boards for the first time on the national level at the 2011 U.S. Diving Winter Nationals. She finished fifth on 1-meter springboard, reached the semifinals of 3-meter and competed in the quarterfinals of platform (her first nationals competition on platform). At the 2011 NCAAs, Ishimatsu won the consolation final of the 1-meter springboard and, after striking her heel on a dive on 3-meter, came back to reach the consolation final of platform.
Stanford freshman Maya DiRado was named Pac-10 Women's Swimming Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and California head coach Teri McKeever, a former All-American at USC, was named Pac-10 Women's Swimming Coach of the Year.
On the men's side, USC freshman Vladimir Morozov was named the 2011 Pac-10 Men's Newcomer of the Year for men's swimming.
Morozov was a four-time All-American and a two-time individual finalist at the 2011 NCAA Championships, taking fourth in the 100y free and sixth in the 50y free. He also led the Trojans to third in the 400y free relay and fifth in the 200y free relay. Morozov is the first Trojan to earn All-American honors in the 50y and 100y free in the same year since Bjorn Zikarsky in 1991.
At the 2011 Pac-10 Championships, going head-to-head against Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian of California, Morozov finished second in both the 50y free and 100y free.
On the season, Morozov lowered USC's 50y free record five times and broke the 100y free record seven times. He last lowered the 50 mark with a 19.06 in the Pac-10 final and his last 100y free record (41.88) came in the NCAA final.
"The final season honors for our individual athletes and diving coach is the exclamation point for an outstanding season for our men's and women's swimming and diving teams," USC head coach Dave Salo said. "I am sure they would each be the first to say that their performances this year was driven by our team goals. It is a proud day for all Trojans when our athletes and coaches are honored by our conference - easily the most competitive conference in the country."
Adrian and Stanford's Austin Staab were named Pac-10 Co-Swimmers of the Year and Cal's David Durden was named Men's Coach of the Year.
