BIRMINGHAM — The Alabama swimming and diving teams led the Southeastern Conference in First Team All-SEC honors in 2020, the league office announced on Tuesday.
The Crimson Tide also led the way with six men earning first-team accolades and was second in the league with 13 combined first- and second-team honors between the men’s and women’s squads. Overall, it was the most first- and second-team accolades for the men and women in program history. The women also garnered the most honors in their history and the most first-team certificates since 1985.
“This just highlights what a great SECs we had this season,” UA head coach Coley Stickels said. “To lead the league in First Team All-SEC honors is a tremendous accomplishment and to have the most combined first- and second-team honors in program history, and to have only one senior among that group, says a lot about where we are headed. We are very proud of this team and what they accomplished this year.”
Senior Zane Waddell, juniors Sam DiSette and Tyler Sesvold, sophomores Jonathan Berneburg and Colton Stogner and freshman Liam Bell earned first-team recognition for the men, while sophomores Kensey McMahon and Rhyan White along with freshman Tanesha Lucoe were selected to the first team for the women.
Juniors Flora Molnar and Kaila Wong as well as sophomores Kalia Antoniou and Morgan Scott were named to the league’s second team.
The conference office also announced that Lucoe was voted the SEC Female Freshman Diver of the Year by the league’s coaches. The rookie from Victoria, British Columbia, won the SEC platform title by more than 50 points after tallying a school-record 338.75 points. She also earned an NCAA Championships berth after posting a top-five finish off the platform at the NCAA Zone B Championships.
“This is a great honor for Tanesha and well deserved,” Stickels said. “Her performance off the platform at the SEC Championships was the most dominant on the diving side of the meet, men or women. We’re really excited about where she is headed as she moves forward.”
Lucoe, Bell, Derek Maas and Matt Menke were all named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
Waddell also earned the Commissioner’s Trophy (high point scorer) and was honored as the SEC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the SEC Championships in February.
For the All-SEC teams, the first team consists of the top finisher in each event at the SEC Championships and the second team consists of the second- and third-place finishers in each event. The All-Freshman teams consist of any redshirt or true freshman who finished either in the top eight or is the highest scoring freshman of each event at the SEC Championships, excluding relay events.
