GREENSBORO – The Atlantic Coast Conference has honored 10 individuals as recipients of the 2015 ACC Swimming and Diving Annual awards, as announced Monday. The winners were determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
NC State garnered three accolades, as Braden Holloway was tabbed as the Men’s Coach of the Year, Simonas Bilis earned Men’s Swimmer of the Year and Anton Ipsen was named Men’s Freshman of the Year.
Miami’s Samuel Dorman and Randy Ableman earned recognition, as they received Men’s Diver of the Year and Men’s Diving Coach of the Year, respectively. Virginia’s Jennifer Marrkand and Augie Busch were honored, as they brought home Women’s Freshman of the Year and Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year, respectively. Virginia Tech also had two honorees, with Kaylea Arnett and Ron Piemonte earning honors as the Women’s Diver of the Year and Women’s Diving Coach of the Year. Louisville’s single recognition came from Kelsi Worrell, the Women’s Swimmer of the Year.
NC State’s Bilis, a junior from Panevezys, Lithuania, led the Wolfpack to its first ACC Championship since 1992. Bilis earned Most Valuable Swimmer of the meet after setting ACC conference and championship records in the 100 free and 400 free relay, while earning additional gold medals in the 50 free and 200 free. At NCAAs, he received five All-America recognitions, including top eight finishes in the 50 free and the 100 free, where he again broke the conference record.
In her inaugural ACC campaign, Louisville’s Worrell rewrote the record book on her way to becoming the national champion in both the 100 fly and 200 fly. At the 2015 ACC Championships, Worrell earned two gold medals, setting the conference and championship records in the 100 free and 100 fly. She followed that up by leading the Cardinals to a sixth place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships, shattering the American, NCAA and U.S. Open records while also becoming the first woman to break 50 seconds in the 100 fly. In total, Worrell earned seven All-America honors this season.
Miami’s Dorman shattered the NCAA 3-meter diving record with 529.10 points, which was more than 30 points better than the mark set in the prelims earlier in the day. Dorman scored more than 80 points on each of his first five dives during his championship session. The senior also added a second place finish in the 1-meter to earn All-America recognition and cap off his career as a Hurricane.
After winning the 3-meter and platform diving competitions along with placing third in the 1-meter at the 2015 ACC Championships, Virginia Tech’s Arnett became the first female diver to claim four ACC Championship Most Valuable Diver honors. At the 2015 NCAAs, Arnett placed sixth in the 3-meter while earning honorable mention All-America status in the platform.
At the 2015 ACCs, NC State’s Ipsen was the champion in the 500 free competition, defeating his closest opponent by over two seconds. The freshman also claimed a gold medal in the 1650 free, winning by nearly nine seconds. At the NCAAs, Ipsen finished fifth in the 1650 to garner All-America honors and earned honorable mention All-America recognition in the 500 free as well.
Marrkand, tabbed as the Women’s Freshman of the Year, collected honorable mention All-America status in the 200 back at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Additionally, the Westford, Massachusetts, native swam the butterfly leg on the 400 medley relay in 51.61 to help the Cavaliers win the prelims session. Marrkand also finished 24th in the 200 fly and 30th in the 100 fly.
NC State’s Holloway led the Wolfpack to its 25th ACC title overall and his first as head coach. At the 2015 NCAAs, the Wolfpack made program history as they came away with an 8th place finish, its highest team finish in 39 years. NC State racked up 26 All-America mentions, three runner-up finishes and one bronze medal.
In his second year at the helm of the Virginia women, Busch continued the program’s winning ways, as he guided the Cavaliers to their eighth consecutive ACC title. At the 2015 NCAAs, Busch led Virginia to its best NCAA finish in program history as they came in at 5th place. The Cavaliers earned eight All-America mentions and two individual national champions (Leah Smith in the 500 free and 1650 free).
Abelman, the Male Diving Coach of the Year, guided the Hurricanes to a 20th place finish in the NCAA Championships. Highlighted by Dorman’s 3-meter record and second place finish in the 1-meter in addition to Briadam Herrera’s honorable mention All-America finish in the 1-meter, the Hurricanes enjoyed their highest finish since 2009. At the ACCs, Herrera took home gold medals in both the 1-meter and 3-meter, earning him Most Valuable Diver accolades.
Piemonte, the Female Diving Coach of the Year, was integral in the Hokies’ third place finish in the 2015 ACCs. His divers earned four medals in the three diving distinctions, including two gold medals for Arnett in the 3-meter and platform. At the NCAAs, Piemonte coached Arnett to All-America honors in the 3-meter and honorable mention All-America in the platform.
Men’s Swimmer of the Year – Simonas Bilis, NC State
Men’s Diver of the Year – Samuel Dorman, Miami
Men’s Freshman of the Year – Anton Ipsen, NC State
Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year – Braden Holloway, NC State
Men’s Diving Coach of the Year – Randy Ableman, Miami
Women’s Swimmer of the Year – Kelsi Worrell, Louisville
Women’s Diver of the Year – Kaylea Arnett, Virginia Tech
Women’s Freshman of the Year – Jennifer Marrkand, Virginia
Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year – Augie Busch, Virginia
Women’s Diving Coach of the Year – Ron Piemonte, Virginia Tech
The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworld.com.