Courtesy: Azusa Pacific Athletics
After one of the most successful seasons in Azusa Pacific swim & dive history, head coach Tim Kyle was selected as the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference (PCSC) Coach of the Year while true freshman Montana White was named the PCSC Swimmer of the Year. This season, the Cougars tied their best-ever finish at the conference championships taking third place, before finishing 22nd (the highest of the PCSC teams) at the DII NCAA National Championships for its highest finish in program history.
PCSC Swimmer of the Year | Montana White
White was named the conference’s Swimmer of the Year in her first collegiate season after a strong freshman season. She was a DII First-Team All-American in the 200 Free where she produced a school record time of 1:49.81 at the National Championships in the prelim race before taking sixth in the event final. White also was an All-American in three other events in her debut season (50 Free, 100 Free, 500 Free).
She also was named Swimmer of the Meet at the PCSC Championships after winning four different events (100 Free, 200 Free, 200 Free Relay, 500 Free). One of the three school records she set this season included being a part of her team’s 200 Free relay that took first place at the conference championships. The other two records came in the 100 Free and 200 Free (twice) in just her freshman season.
“Montana was the strongest swimmer in our conference all year long,” head coach Tim Kyle said. “She went undefeated in the PCSC Conference in her three main events 100/200/500 the entire season. She scored the most points out of any swimmer at our conference meet and qualified for four events at NCAA Nationals where she swam amazingly. She has represented our conference extremely well, with fantastic sportsmanship and athletic ability. I couldn’t be more proud to call her a Cougar!”
PCSC Coach of the Year | Tim Kyle
Coach Kyle becomes the first head coach in Azusa Pacific history to be given the award after leading the program to its best-ever finishes in the conference and national championships. He also coached three All-Americans for the second time in the past three seasons, and hired Jim Luci who won PCSC Dive Coach of the Meet in his first season as the Cougars dive coach.
“I am honored to receive this recognition,” Kyle said. “This award truly stems from the hard work of our athletes, trainers, and coaching staff. We all came together and had the best year ever in APU history as an NCAA DII swim and dive team. I am proud of all of our accomplishments this past season!