BATON ROUGE ? LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer and divers Paige Brown, Michael Neubacher and Rachel Ware were honored by the Southeastern Conference on Monday.
Shaffer, who is in his sixth season as LSU’s diving coach, was named SEC Female Diving Coach of the Year after the Lady Tigers won two individual championships along with a platform finish in the three-meter finals last week at the SEC Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“I am honored to be selected by my peers for this award,” said Shaffer. “The award is really a reflection of the student athletes. Ultimately, the respect and admiration go to them and they deserve the recognition.”
Ware was named the SEC Female Diver of the Year and received first-team conference honors. The two-time NCAA All-American won the 1-meter championship and finished second in the 3-meter event. Ware was named SEC Female Freshman Diver of the Year last season.
“Rachel, recovered from shoulder surgery last spring and made great progress during the season,” Shaffer commented. “She had a remarkable performance last week at the conference championships.”
Michael Neubacher was named SEC Male Freshman Diver of the Year and received second-team honors. The Windermere, Fla., native had a top-five finish in all three diving events at the conference championships, including a second-place finish in the platform event. Neubacher is the fourth freshman to receive the award during Shaffer’s time at LSU.
“Mike was a stand-out performer at all three SEC events and was very deserving of this award,” Shaffer said.
Brown received first-team honors after a heroic performance in the platform event at the conference championships. The senior Lady Tiger overcame a prelim injury that forced her to get 11 stitches on her heels to win the platform championship.
Entering her last of five dives in the prelims, Brown did an inward two-and-a-half summersault in the pike position and while rotating she ?clocked’ both of her heels against the diving platform. She miraculously was still able to finish fifth and qualify for the finals.
Brown was immediately transported to the hospital where she received treatment and it was uncertain whether she would be able to compete in the finals.
The heroic Lady Tiger came back five hours later to compete in the finals and she won the championship by a remarkable 26.5 points.
“Paige’s day Saturday was a story of adversity, dedication and believing in yourself,” Shaffer commented. “Her championship effort was a great way to cap off the week.”
Next up, several LSU swimmers look to solidify their NCAA Championships’ berth at the Last Chance Meet next weekend at the Ramsey Center in Athens, Ga.
2008 SEC Awards
2008 SEC Male Swimmer of the Year
Cesar Cielo, Auburn
2008 SEC Male Freshman Swimmer of the Year
Mark Dylla, Georgia
2008 SEC Male Swimming Coach of the Year
Richard Quick, Auburn
2008 SEC Male Diver of the Year
Chris Colwill, Georgia
2008 SEC Male Freshman Diver of the Year
Michael Neubacher, LSU
2008 SEC Male Diving Coach of the Year
Jeff Shaffer, Auburn
2008 SEC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Kevin Nead, Florida
2008 Female Swimmer of the Year
Christine Magnuson, Tennessee
2008 Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year
Aleksa Akerfelds, Tennessee
2008 SEC Female Swimming Co-Coaches of the Year
Gregg Troy, Florida and Matt Kredich, Tennessee
2008 SEC Female Diver of the Year
Rachel Ware, LSU
2008 SEC Female Freshman Diver of the Year
Jessica Snowden, Kentucky
2008 SEC Female Diving Coach of the Year
Doug Shaffer, LSU
2008 SEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Christine Magnuson, Tennessee
Women’s First Team All SEC
Kara Denby, Auburn
Margo McCawley, Auburn
Ava Ohlgren, Auburn
Caitlin Geary, Auburn
Melissa Marik, Auburn
Emily Kukors, Auburn
Maggie Bird, Auburn
Melissa Marik, Auburn
Gemma Spofforth, Florida
Caroline Burckle, Florida
Colleen Healy, Florida
Stephanie Napier, Florida
Rachel Ware, LSU
Paige Brown, LSU
Christine Magnuson, Tennessee
Lauren LeRoy, Tennessee
Michele King, Tennessee
Carly Mathes, Tennessee
Brittany Nauta, Tennessee
Men’s First Team All-SEC
Aaron Fleshner, Alabama
Scott Goodrich, Auburn
Michael Silva, Auburn
Alexi Puninski, Auburn
Cesar Cielo, Auburn
Kelly Marx, Auburn
Dan Mazzaferro, Auburn
Kohlton Norys, Auburn
Steve Scheren, Auburn
Bradley Ally, Florida
Clark Burckle, Florida
Shaune Fraser, Florida
Omar Pinzon, Florida
Sebastien Rouault, Georgia
Mark Dylla, Georgia
Nolan Morrell, Tennessee
Jonas Persson, Tennessee
Andrew Thirlwell, Tennessee
Michael Wolfe, Tennessee
Women’s Second Team All-SEC
Alana Dillette, Auburn
Emile Ewing, Auburn
Amanda Hartley, Florida
Stephanie Proud, Florida
Chelsea Nauta, Georgia
Kelly McNichols, Georgia
Morgan Scroggy, Georgia
Anna Miller, Georgia
Alek Putra, Georgia
Elizabeth Hill, Georgia
Jessica Snowden, Kentucky
Jenny Bradford, Kentucky
Heather Bradford, Kentucky
Lauren Willis, Kentucky
Megan Pulskamp, Kentucky
Kari Retrum, Kentucky
Aleksa Akerfelds, Tennessee
Men’s Second Team All-SEC
Jordan Anderson, Auburn
Adam Klein, Auburn
Daniel Penniman, Florida
Grant Johnson, Florida
Roland Rudolf, Florida
Rexford Tullius, Florida
Troyden Prinsloo, Georgia
Will Vietti, Kentucky
Michael Neubacher, LSU
Nicholas Walkotten, South Carolina
Barry Murphy, Tennessee
Octavio Alesi, Tennessee
Nolan Morrell, Tennessee
Michael DeRocco, Tennessee