Swim & Dive Announces 2019-20 Team Award Recipients

The Minnesota swimming & diving program announced their full slate of team awards for the 2019-20 season on Tuesday evening, holding their annual awards banquet virtually via web conference.

"I'm honored to speak on behalf of a team that continued to persevere, fight and even smile through a year that provided more challenges and adversity than we could have ever imagined," said head coach Kelley Kremer. "It's a year we'll never forget, a season that provided a career's worth of personal and professional growth and a team that we will always remember as being very, very special."

Max McHugh and Lindsey Kozelsky highlighted this year's award recipients, as the two talented breaststrokers received Most Valuable honors for the men's and women's teams, respectively. After monumental 2019-20 campaigns, both swimmers qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships before the season ended on March 12, 2020, when the Big Ten and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions and championships because of COVID-19 public health concerns.

As for McHugh, the sophomore turned in the fastest time in the nation of the season (50.67) in the 100 breaststroke while speeding his way to the Big Ten Conference Championship in the event. McHugh's mark in the 200 breast (1:51.62) ranked third in the country in 2019-20. On three separate occasions this past year, McHugh garnered Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honors for his performance in the pool.

Having also earned bids to the NCAA meet in the 100 and 200 breast, Kozelsky found herself among the best in the country in the former. Kozelsky's season-best time of 58.66 in the 100 breast was the fifth-fastest in the country of the season. In addition, the senior earned a pair of Big Ten Swimmer of the Week awards, bringing her career total to five total weekly conference accolades.

McHugh and Kozelsky may have hauled in honors as the Gophers' most valuable swimmers, but the nod for Diver of the Year went to first-year standout Joy Zhu. In her debut season of NCAA competition, Zhu turned in eight separate first place finishes in either the 1-meter or 3-meter springboard, winning Big Ten Diver of the Week three diferent times. At Big Tens, Zhu delivered a pair of podium finishes by placing second in both the 1-meter and 3-meter.

Among the other awards handed out on Tuesday evening were those for Hardest Worker and Most Improved. Matthew Thomas, Justin Torres and Duncan Lester came home with the Hardest Worker honors on the men's side, while Abbey Kilgallon, Olivia Bloomer and Jae Sarkis hauled in the same award for the women's team. The Gophers that were tabbed as Most Improved were Aidan Dulaney, Tommy Barr and Lester, in addition to Maggie Erwin, Emma Linscott and Jaclynn Fowler.

New to the 2019-20 season, the program introduced the "Whatever is Needed" Award to honor those who stepped up and did whatever it took to help the team during dual meets. Also known as the "WIN" Award, the first recipients for this accolade were Eitan Yudashkin, Cameron Kelley and Jake Butler for the men, with Tevyn Waddell, Kate Sullivan and Fowler representing the women.

Selected by the strength coaches, the Iron Fish award goes to those who went above and beyond in their performance training. The 2019-20 recipients for this honor were Tom Donker, Waddell and Jeremy Moser.

Several other individual accolades went out on Tuesday, including the Jerry McCaul Award, which goes to an outstanding Minnesota swimmer or diver who best exemplifies the late Jerry McCaul's (1957-1979) enthusiasm and dedication to the sport. After wrapping up his senior campaign, Tuomas Pokkinen earned this prestigious honor for his contributions both in and out of the pool throughout 2019-20.

Those closely associated with the Minnesota program know the name Jean K. Freeman is synonymous with the success of the team. Jean was an outstanding alumna, coach, role model and a forever-loyal Gopher. The Jean K. Freeman Award goes annually to a female student-athlete who represents unyielding motivation and a committed spirit that is complimented with a deep-seeded dedication to personal growth. This year, that Gopher is Kozelsky, who adds the honor to an already lengthy list of career accolades.

Named after the Minnesota alumna with the same name, the Dorothy L. Sheppard Award goes annually to a female student-athlete who values the science of swimming, international awareness and travel, and a competitive educational experience. The 2019-20 honoree for this award was Patricia Van Law.

Last, but certainly not least, the women's team honors one student-athlete per season as their Spirit Award recipient. As a freshman during the 2019-20 campaign, this honor was bestowed upon Caroline Anderson.

During the awards banquet, the team also revealed the 2019-20 letterwinners, as well as recipients of the Outstanding Student-Athlete Award (cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher). This year, a grand total of 28 Gophers achieved the latter feat. A full list of these honorees can be found below.

2019-20 Letterwinners

First Year
Caroline Anderson
Isaac Barrera
Grace Bennin
Will Brenton
Lillianna Brooks
Jake Butler
Rachel Butler
Hannah Craley
Aidan Dulaney
Maggie Erwin
Jaclynn Fowler
Sam Kennedy
Aedan Lewis
Emma Lezer
Emma Linscott
Jordan McGinty
Gavin Olson
Ryan Phillip
Shane Rozeboom
Desmon Sachtjen
Jae Sarkis
Maggie Summit
Bronwyn Tuff
Grace Wollschlager
Joy Zhu

Second Year
Olivia Bloomer
Nic Chromey
Emily Cook
Aidan Dillon
Abbey Kilgallon
Max Lezer
Kelli McCarthy
Max McHugh
Kate Sullivan
Patricia Van Law
Katherine Wagner
Evan Yoder

Third Year
Cale Berkoff
Abbey Erwin
Brittany Horn
Cameron Kelley
Duncan Lester
Tim Sates
Eitan Yudashkin
Kyle Van Niekerk

Fourth Year
Lindsey Kozelsky
Jeremy Moser
Tuomas Pokkinen
Madison Preiss
Nick Saulnier
Matthew Thomas
Justin Torres
Tevyn Waddell

Outstanding Student-Athlete Award
Isaac Barrera
Grace Bennin
Cale Blinkman
Olivia Bloomer
Rachel Butler
Emily Cook
Aidan Dulaney
Abbey Erwin
Maggie Erwin
Jaclynn Fowler
Abbey Kilgallon
Lindsey Kozelsky
Duncan Lester
Emma Lezer
Max Lezer
Emma Linscott
Kelli McCarthy
Jordan McGinty
Jeremy Moser
Gavin Olson
Ryan Phillip
Tuomas Pokkinen
Shane Rozeboom
Kate Sullivan
Patricia Van Law
Grace Wollschlager
Evan Yoder
Eitan Yudashkin

With the season now officially wrapped up, the Minnesota swimming & diving program would like to personally thank all the incredible fans that supported the Gophers throughout the 2019-20 campaign.

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Players Mentioned

Caroline Anderson

Tommy Barr

Isaac Barrera

Grace Bennin

Cale Berkoff

Cale Blinkman

Olivia Bloomer

Will Brenton

Lillianna Brooks

Jake Butler

Rachel Butler

Nic Chromey

Emily Cook

Hannah Craley

Aidan Dillon

Tom Donker

Aidan Dulaney

Abbey Erwin

Maggie Erwin

Jaclynn Fowler

Brittany Horn

Cameron Kelley

Sam Kennedy

Abbey Kilgallon

Lindsey Kozelsky

Duncan Lester

Aedan Lewis

Emma Lezer

Max Lezer

Emma Linscott

Kelli McCarthy

Jordan McGinty

Max McHugh

Jeremy Moser

Gavin Olson

Ryan Phillip

Tuomas Pokkinen

Madison Preiss

Shane Rozeboom

Desmon Sachtjen

Jae Sarkis

Tim Sates

Nick Saulnier

Kate Sullivan

Maggie Summit

Matthew Thomas

Justin Torres

Bronwyn Tuff

Patricia Van Law

Kyle Van Niekerk

Tevyn Waddell

Katherine Wagner

Grace Wollschlager

Evan Yoder

Eitan Yudashkin

Joy Zhu

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