University of Minnesota announces Swimming and Diving Honors 2022-23 Team at Banquet
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota swimming and diving program honored its 2022-23 team at its recent annual awards banquet.
Max McHugh and Joy Zhu highlighted this year's awards as the two received Most Valuable honors for the men's and women's teams, respectively.
McHugh, who took home the team honor for the third year in a row, closed out his illustrious career with a third-straight NCAA title in the 100 breast this season. He touched the wall at exactly 50.00, the third fastest time of his career, trailing only his two sub-50 performances at last year's NCAA Championships. The time was also .60 ahead of the field. With the win, McHugh became the seventh male in NCAA history to win three straight 100 breast titles and the eighth to win at least three 100 breast titles in a career.
Coupling his three-peat with his 2021 title in the 200 breast, McHugh finished his career with four individual NCAA titles, making him one of five Gophers across all sports to reach that number. The Sturgeon Bay, Wis., native also posted a third-place finish in the 200 breast. McHugh concluded his Gophers' career as a nine-time All-American, and he never placed lower than third place in his four trips to the NCAAs in the 100 and 200 breast combined.
In addition, he swept the breaststroke events at the Big Ten Championships for the third straight year and earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team for the fourth time. His seven individual Big Ten titles are the most in school history for a swimmer.
The 2023 Big Ten Diver of the Year, Zhu finished her career in the Maroon and Gold with a pair of All-America honors. At the NCAA Championships, she placed seventh on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 322.55, while on the 1-meter she finished in eighth place behind a performance of 297.35.
Earlier in the postseason, she took bronze at the Big Ten Championships on the 1-meter, while on the 3-meter she was fourth and on the platform she came in 14th.
Including prelims, Zhu finished first on the 1-meter eight times this season and won seven times on the 3-meter. In team history, she ranks fifth for the 1-meter (338.62), sixth for the 3-meter (375.00) and 15th for the platform (266.85).
Among the other awards handed out at the banquet were those for Hardest Worker and Most Improved.
William Christenson, Tommy McCarthy, Chris Nagy, Desmon Sachtjen, Lovro Serdarevic and Bar Soloveychik took home Hardest Worker honors on the men's side, while Faith Johnson, Paula Rodriguez Rivero and Summer Schmit captured the same award for the women's team.
The Gophers that were tabbed as Most Improved were Jack Ballard, Drew Bennett, Matt McDonald and Kaiser Neverman for the men, and Rodriguez Rivero, Grace Drabot and Ava Yablonski for the women.
The W.I.N. Award goes to the individuals who do "Whatever is Needed" by stepping up and helping the team the most during meets. Kate Sullivan and Megan Van Berkom earned the accolade for the women, while Neverman did so for the men.
Selected by the strength coaches, the Iron Fish award goes to those who went above and beyond in their performance training. The 2022-23 recipients for this honor were Neverman, Sullivan and Zhu.
The Jerry McCaul Award is given to an outstanding Minnesota male swimmer or diver who best exemplifies the late Jerry McCaul's (1957-1979) enthusiasm and dedication to the sport. Jerry was the perfect teammate. McCaul pushed you to succeed, yet wanted to beat you to the wall. He was both supportive and competitive, and always positive. This year's recipient was Casey Stowe.
Jean K. Freeman 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 was Rachel Butler.
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. Zhu was the winner of the award this season.
Finally, the women's team honors one student-athlete per season as their Spirit Award recipient. That student-athlete this season was Johnson.
During the awards banquet, the team also revealed the 2022-23 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 all the honorees can be found below.
Most Valuable
Hardest Worker
William Christenson, Tommy McCarthy, Chris Nagy, Desmon Sachtjen, Lovro Serdarevic, Bar Soloveychik, Faith Johnson, Paula Rodriguez Rivero, Summer Schmit
Most Improved
Jack Ballard, Drew Bennett, Matt McDonald, Kaiser Neverman, Grace Drabot, Paula Rodriguez Rivero, Ava Yablonski
Women's Team Spirit Award
Iron Fish
(Those who went above and beyond in their performance training)
Kaiser Neverman, Kate Sullivan, Joy Zhu
W.I.N. Award
(Whatever is Needed)
Kaiser Neverman, Kate Sullivan, Megan Van Berkom
Jean K. Freeman Award
(Female student-athlete who represents unyielding motivation and a committed spirit that is complimented with a deep-seeded dedication to personal growth)
Dorothy L. Sheppard Award
(Female student-athlete who values the science of swimming, international awareness and travel, and a competitive educational experience)
Jerry McCaul Award
(Male student-athlete who best exemplifies the late Jerry McCaul's enthusiasm and dedication to the sport)
Outstanding Student-Athlete Award
(Cumulative GPA of at least 3.50)
Jack Ballard, Jack Brown, William Christenson, Connor Groya, Alberto Hernandez, Josh Johnston, Max McHugh, Chris Nagy, Shane Rozeboom, Desmon Sachtjen, Denton Smith, Bar Soloveychik, Rachel Butler, Ava Gustafson, Faith Johnson, Indy Jongman, Eliot Kennedy, Kate LaMonica, Emma Lezer, Jordan McGinty, Brigitta Neverman, Summer Schmit, Ella Smith, Kate Sullivan, Maggie Summit, Molly Urkiel, Ava Yablonski, Joy Zhu
2022-23 Letterwinners
First Year
Drew Bennett, Alberto Hernandez, Drew Kaelin, Matt McDonald, Lovro Serdarevic, Addie Albrecht, Vivi Del Angel, Grace Drabot, Faith Johnson, Eliot Kennedy, Ava Yablonski
Second Year
Josh Johnston, Chris Morris, Bar Soloveychik, Hannah Cornish, Kate LaMonica, Av Osero, Megan Phillip
Third Year
Isaac Barrera, William Christenson, Lucas Farrar, Cameron Linder, Chris Nagy, Kaiser Neverman, Casey Stowe, Indy Jongman, Paula Rodriguez Rivero, Molly Urkiel, Megan Van Berkom, Joy Zhu
Fourth Year
Desmon Sachtjen, Shane Rozeboom, Rachel Butler, Emma Lezer, Jordan McGinty, Maggie Summit
Fifth Year
Max McHugh, Olivia Bloomer, Kate Sullivan
The original source can be found here.