Kirsten Vose Named Pac-12 Swimmer of the Month

SAN FRANCISCO – USC freshman Kirsten Vose was named Pac-12 Women’s Swimmer of the Month and UCLA sophomore Maria Polyakova was named Diver of the Month for December competition, the Conference office announced Wednesday.

Vose, a La Cañada, Calif., native, made an impact on the Trojan squad at the Texas Invitational, winning two individual titles and helped USC to two relay victories. The freshman won both the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes, in times of 59.58 and 2:07.46, respectively. Both times were her personal bests. She took second in the 200-yard individual medley and reached the finals of the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events. Additionally, she led off USC’s winning 400-yard freestyle relay and swam in the victorious 400-yard medley relay. Both relays posted NCAA ‘A’ cuts and were near school records.

This is the first-career Swimmer of the Month honor for Vose and USC’s 10th all-time monthly nod.

Polyakova, a native of Penza, Russia and reigning Pac-12 Diver of the Month, swept the springboard events at the Jean K. Freeman Invitational in Minnesota. In the 3-meter springboard, Polyakova posted the top mark of 365.00, nearly 22 points ahead of the second-place finisher. She completed the sweep in the 1-meter event with a score of 326.75. Since the season began in October, she has won nine of the 10 diving events and has swept the 3-meter event.

This is the third-career Diver of the Month honor for Polyakova and 12th overall for UCLA. She previously earned the award for the months of December 2014 and November 2015.

Also Nominated:

Swimmer: Annie Ochitwa, ARIZ;  Katie Grover, UCLA

2015-16 Women’s Swimmers and Divers of the Month

Swimming news courtesy of Pac-12.