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University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Swimming & Diving Honored By Atlantic 10
February 23, 2009 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 23, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - The Atlantic 10 announced their yearly awards Monday after the conclusion of the four-day Atlantic 10 Championships in Buffalo, N.Y., where the Minutemen earned their third straight A-10 Championship and the Richmond women's team earned the A-10 Championship for the eighth year in a row. Men's swim coach Russ Yarworth earned A-10 Coach of the Year honors for the third year in a row, while diving coach Mandy Hixon was named A-10 Diving Coach of the Year for the second year in a row as two of her divers earned Most Outstanding Diver honors for the second consecutive time. This year, senior Karen Upperco and freshman Jason Cook earned those honors.
Men's head coach Russ Yarworth was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year after coaching his team to their eighth championship in nine years. This marks the ninth time Yarworth has been named Coach of the Year by the Atlantic 10, and the 11th championship victory of the veteran coach's career. Yarworth's Minutemen were led by senior Nate Bromage, who won his fourth-straight 100 fly at A-10s and juniors Andrew Willbrant and Justin Brooks who also added to their individual A-10 winning streaks as Willbrant brought home the 100 back in a UMass record-setting 49.61 and Brooks took the 1650 free, both for the third year in a row.
Yarworth was also recently honored for the his 30 years of coaching at UMass at a surprise dinner, attended by Chancellor and Mrs. Robert Holub, former Chancellor and Mrs. David Scott, Senator Stan Rosenberg, and the entire team. Senator Rosenberg also honored Yarworth with an Official Citation from the state Senate.
Diving Coach Mandy Hixon was named Diving Coach of the Year for both the men and women as she has produced the most dominant diving team in the Atlantic 10, with two divers earning yearly honors for the second year in a row. At this year's Championships, the Minutewomen swept the one-meter dive as Karen Upperco, Sarah Horstmann, and Hannah Swift owned the top spots on the first day of competition, and dominated the three-meter with Upperco in first again, setting a new A-10 record in the event, Horstmann in third, and Swift taking eighth. In the men's competition, freshman Jason Cook took first in both diving events, setting new A-10 marks in both events. The Minutemen also swept the one-meter dive and placed four divers in the top eight for both events. No other team at the Championships had three or more divers in the top eight, while both UMass squads had at least three in all four events.
Senior Karen Upperco was named A-10 Most Outstanding Diver for the third time of her career, second consecutive, after setting a new A-10 record in the three-meter dive and taking first in both events for the second time in her career. Upperco replaced the mark set by teammate Anne Fogerty at last year's A-10s with a new score of 588.25 for the three-meter dive and just missed her own record of 520.60 in the one-meter as she notched a score of 520.30. With the two first-place finishes, the Titusville, N.J. native is now a three-time A-10 Champion in the one-meter, and a two-time Champion in the three-meter.
Freshman Jason Cook was also named A-10 Most Outstanding Diver after his record setting performance at the Atlantic 10 Championships and consistency all season. Cook capped off an undefeated season in the three-meter dive with a first-place finish in the event at A-10s while he also took the top spot in the one-meter dive and only finished as low as second in the event, twice over the season. The Amherst, Mass. native broke both A-10 records previously set by one of the best divers in UMass history, R.J. Rappe, with scores of 680.75 in the three-meter, and 636.90 in the one-meter.
Both swimming and diving teams will return to the pool on Friday, Feb. 27 as they head to Cambridge, Mass. to compete at the ECACs.
