SUWANEE, Ga. – Based on exclusive voting
by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
(SCAC), John Cook of DePauw University and Lis Starr of Centre
College – were named the league’s male and female
Swimmer-of-the-Year, respectively. In that same voting, Hunter
Hayes of Centre College and Hayley Emerick of Trinity University
– were selected as the SCAC male and female
Diver-of-the-Year, respectively.
DePauw’s Cook, a junior, finished first in three different
individual events at the SCAC Championships (50, 100 and 200 free)
setting SCAC meet records in the 100 and 50 before setting the SCAC
open record in the 200. A Leawood, Kansas native was also part of
the Tigers’ all-conference relay teams in the 200 free, 400
free and 800 free which all took top honors setting new SCAC open
records. Cook was named the SCAC Swimmer-of-the-Meet at Tracy
Caulkins Competition Pool at the SCAC Championships.
At the NCAA Championships, Cook swam with the 200-yard freestyle,
400-yard freestyle and 800-yard freestyle relay teams that all
earned All-America honors. Both the 200 and 400-yard freestyle
relay teams earned all-American honors finishing seventh nationally
and breaking the school record along the way. The 800-yard
freestyle relay team earned Honorable Mention All-American honors
after finishing in 11th-place in school record fashion.
Individually, Cook earned All-America honors with a fifth-place
showing in the 100 freestyle in 44.46 seconds after breaking the
school record in prelims. The junior also earned Honorable Mention
all-America honors with an ninth-place finish in the 50 free and a
9th-place finish in the 200 free as DePauw finished 12th as a team
at the championships. Cook, who was named SCAC male swimmer of the
year last year, has now earned 11 All-American honors including
five as an individual and six as a member on a relay team.
Centre’s Starr, a senior from Omaha, Neb., won two individual
events at the SCAC Championships setting an SCAC meet record in the
200-yard IM before setting the SCAC open record in the 100-yard
butterfly. Starr was also a part of three all-conference relay
teams in the 200 and 400-yard medley relay teams which took top
honors setting SCAC open records – on top of the 400-yard
free relay team that took top honors while setting a new SCAC meet
record.
At the NCAA Championships, Starr swam with the 200-yard medley
relay which finished 14th in 1:47.48 to earn Honorable Mention
All-America honors. Individually, Starr earned two more Honorable
Mention All-America honors with a ninth-place showing in the 100
butterfly and an 11th place finish in the 200-yard fly as Centre
finished 30th as a team at the championships. The senior finishes
her career in the water earning a total of four All-American honors
with three individual honors and one relay.
Centre’s Hayes, from Hopkinsville, Ky., swept both the
1-meter and 3-meter spring board competitions at the SCAC
Championships. The junior posted scored of 476.55 and 496.45
respectively, en route to being name the SCAC Diver-of-the-Meet at
the 2009 Championships.
Hayes, who finished in eighth nationally a year ago in the 3-meter
event earning All-American honors, qualified for nationals this
year but was not selected by the national committee.
Trinity’s Emerick, a sophomore diver from Portland, Texas,
set new SCAC high marks in both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards,
posting winning scores of 489.95 and 530.30 respectively in the
events at the 2009 conference championships. It is the second
consecutive year Emerick has swept both events and the fifth
consecutive year a Trinity diver has swept both diving platforms at
the SCAC championships – following fellow teammate and
All-American Lauren Walstad who won both events in 2006 and
2007.
At nationals, Emerick went on to earn All-American honors in both
the 1-meter and 3-meter boards placing sixth (414.70) and third
(467.80) respectively.