May 5, 2008
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri men's swimming and diving team held its annual banquet this past weekend, during which time the team's season awards were presented. At the close of the ceremony all of the awards had been issued to returning members of the team, a promising sign for the upcoming 2008-09 season.
The Most Valuable Player Award was presented to redshirt freshman Cameron Sellers, who stepped up big throughout the season and made a name for himself at the Big 12 Championships. Sellers earned three berths in the championship finals at conference, including an impressive runner-up finish in the 1650 free, and established a new school record in the 200 free.
The team's Most Improved Award was given to junior Ted Harris, whose great strides this season were capped by a pair of berths in the championship finals of the 100 and 200 breast at conference. The Greenville, Illinois, native currently boasts a spot in the program's all-time top-10 in both events.
Freshman Jordan Hawley was named the Tigers' Newcomer of the Year after bolstering the team's sprinting core this season. In his inaugural season at Mizzou, the Texan raced his way to sixth in the 50 free at Big 12s and now stands among the top three in both the 50 and 100 free in the school record books.
Diver of the Year and Top NCAA Performer honors went to sophomore All-American Greg DeStephen. The Columbus, Ohio, native earned a 12th-place finish in 3-meter diving at March's NCAA Championships. His showing, equaling the highest ever finish by a Tiger men's diver at NCAAs, made him just the second All-America diver in program history.
The Top Big 12 Performer went to junior Gilad Kaufman, who broke the school record in the 100 fly in claiming sixth in the event at the conference meet. Kaufman also secured sixth in the 200 portion of the event during the team's trip to Austin.
Junior co-captain Jake Hoffmann received the Joe Goldfarb Award for his determined leadership over the course of the season, while the coaching staff honored classmate Bryan Difford with the Michael J. Pohlkamp Award for his enthusiasm and overall leadership.