University of Minnesota Athletics
Busack, Shaughnessy, Tyler Share MVP Honors
4/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Stacy Busack, Jenny Shaughnessy and Jillian Tyler highlighted this year's University of Minnesota women's swimming and diving banquet when all three were named the team's most valuable swimmers of the 2008-09 season. Busack, Shaughnessy and Tyler were major contributors to the Gophers’ second-place finish at the Big Ten Conference championship and an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships in March.
At the NCAA championships, Busack was a five-time All-American. She was an All-American in one individual event (100 free) and was on all four All-America relays (200, 400 and 800 free relays and the 400 medley relay). At the Big Ten Championships, she won the 100 free event championship and the 200 and 400 free relays as well as being named to the first-team All-Big Ten team. Shaughnessy had an outstanding meet at Big Tens, when she was named the Swimmer of the Championship. During the conference title, she set the Big Ten record in the 200 free (1:44.73). She went on to win the 200 and 400 IM and was a member of the winning 400 and 800 free relays to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors. At NCAAs, she earned All-America honors in the 200 and 400 IM and the 400 and 800 free relays. For the second-straight year, Tyler was the NCAA runner-up in the 100 breaststroke. She improved from seventh to third in the 200 breaststroke and also earned an All-America citation in the 400 medley relay. She won the 100 breast at Big Tens and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection. She broke both of her 100 and 200 breaststroke school records during the course of the year.
Busack also garnered one of the team’s hardest worker awards along with freshman Ashley Steenvoorden. In her first year with the Maroon and Gold, Steenvoorden won the 1,650 freestyle at Big Tens and was later named a first-team All-Big Ten honoree. She followed with a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championships in the same event en route to All-America status. The Gophers’ most improved award went to sophomore Kaylee Jamison and freshman Hannah Whitehead. Jamison and Whitehead each competed in their first NCAA Championships as Golden Gophers. Jamison was an All-American with the 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay. Jamison was also a member of the 200 free relay that won the Big Ten event title and a first-team All-Big Ten selection. Whitehead emerged as the team’s best 100 backstroke swimmer. As a freshman, she held the team’s top time in the 100 back (53.89), which set a school record. In her first year as a Gopher, she earned second-team All-Big Ten honors with the 40 0 medley relay.
Meredith McCarthy was honored with the Dorothy L. Sheppard Award. The award is given to the swimmer who best demonstrates her qualities of being a life-long learner: learning things because they just want to know, values travel and getting to know those who live were you travel and simply enjoys the journey of life. The award was given to McCarthy by the swimming and diving coaching staff.
Players Mentioned
