Alabama Swimming and Diving Celebrates 2017-18 Season with Annual Awards Banquet

4/19/2018 9:27:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

The Crimson Tide’s season included a top-15 NCAA finish for the men, a top-30 finish for the women and a combined 13 men and women earning All-America honors

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama swimming and diving teams celebrated the 2017-18 season with its annual year-end awards banquet Thursday evening.

Now in his sixth year as Alabama's head coach, Dennis Pursley and his staff handed out a number of awards following a season that saw the men's team post its fifth straight top-15 NCAA finish and the women once again finishing in the top-30 nationally.

The following individual awards were handed out during Thursday's festivities:

Coaches Award: Evan Heldman and Hannah Musser
Most Outstanding Swimmer: Robert Howard and Justine Macfarlane
Most Outstanding Diver: Robbie Costine and Christina Lu
Most Valuable: Laurent Bams, Zane Waddell, Bailey Scott and Leonie Kullmann
Most Dedicated: Christian Strycker and Tori VanBuskirk
Best Competitor: Braxton Young and Alina Faunce
Leadership Award: Matthew Adams and Mia Nonnenberg
Most Spirited: Christian Arseneau

A total of 13 men and women combined for 33 All-America honors in 2018. Since the arrival of Pursley and his staff prior to the 2013 season, a total of 30 Alabama men and women have earned 137 All-America accolades.

The Crimson Tide also continued its assault on the school record board, breaking seven UA marks, including three individual and four relays records.

Alabama's academic success has been equally as impressive. Once again, both the Crimson Tide men and women tallied better than a 3.5 team grade point average in the fall, earning College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team honors. The Tide men earned a 3.61 team grade point average in the fall, while the women posted a 3.51 team GPA to earn the recognition.

The men's average led all teams that finished in the top-25 last season, was third among all NCAA Division I programs and was the top mark in the SEC. The UA women were third among SEC programs and 10th among teams that scored at the 2017 NCAA Championships.

The Alabama men's tally included nine student-athletes that earned 4.0 GPAs and 14 that earned between a 3.6 and a 3.9 GPA in the fall. Overall, 28 Tide men earned better than a 3.25 GPA in the fall. On the women's side of the slate, seven student-athletes earned a 4.0 GPA and an additional 12 earned between a 3.5 and 3.9 in the fall. Overall, 30 UA women earned better than a 3.25 GPA last semester.

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