LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty freshman Maddie Freece was named the 2021 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State University Division Co-Rookie Diver of the Year. She was also one of four Lady Flames to be named to the VaSID All-State Women’s Swimming & Diving second team.
The VaSID All-State Women’s Swimming & Diving Team featured nomination and voting by sports information directors from all around the Commonwealth of Virginia. This is the third year that VaSID has sponsored a swimming & diving awards program.
Liberty received four second-team honors on the VaSID Women’s Swimming & Diving Team. Seniors Payton Keiner (backstroke) and Lindsey Cohee (butterfly), junior Lauren Chennault and freshman Maddie Freece were all named to the second team.
Freece is the second Lady Flame to receive VaSID Rookie Diver of the Year honors, as current teammate Olivia Robinson earned the award in 2019. Previously this spring, Freece was named CCSA Women’s Diver of the Year and Most Outstanding Diver of the CCSA Meet.
A native of Lansdale, Pa., Freece won both one-meter and three-meter diving at the 2021 CCSA Championships. Her conference-winning score of 293.15 on one-meter set a program record, while she scored 297.50 to claim victory in three-meter diving. She went on to compete at the NCAA Zone Championships, and had the best showing of any Liberty diver at the meet in program history. Freece finished ninth in three-meter diving at the Zone meet, the first Lady Flame all-time to finish in the top 10 in an event at NCAA Zone Championships. She also finished 13th in one-meter diving at the Zone meet.
A Cincinnati, Ohio, native, Keiner earned her third straight second team All-State award. A 2020 CSCAA All-American, Keiner earned her third trip to the NCAA Championships this season. She won both the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke at the CCSA Championships, the third year in a row in which she has claimed both events. Keiner earned four 200 backstroke conference titles during her career, and holds the CCSA record in the event (1:52.63). She is one of only three CCSA athletes all-time to win the same event four times at the conference meet in their careers.
Lindsey Cohee, a native of Charlotte, N.C., wrapped up a successful career with her second CCSA 200 butterfly title in a row. That extended Liberty’s winning streak to five years in the 200 butterfly at the CCSA Championships. Cohee earned five CCSA podium finishes in her career, including four in the 200 butterfly. The senior was named CCSA Swimmer of the Week on Oct. 27. Cohee swam a lifetime-best 53.76 in the 100 fly at this year’s conference meet, taking third place. She is ranked third in program history in both 100 (53.76) and 200 fly (1:57.85).
Hailing from Coppell, Texas, Lauren Chennault has made the podium in both one-meter and three-meter diving in all three conference meets in which she has competed. She scored a season-high 270.10 on three-meter diving at the 2021 CCSA Championships, finishing third. Chennault then scored 269.15 on one-meter in finishing second to Freece for the conference title. In March, she made her third appearance at the NCAA Zone Championships, The junior is Liberty’s three-meter diving record holder (317.85) and second in one-meter diving (291.15).
These student-athletes helped the Lady Flames earn their third straight CCSA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship title, as Liberty finished in a tie with FGCU for the conference crown. Liberty has now won four conference championships in program history.
2020-21 VaSID All-State Women’s Swimming & Diving Team
- Swimmer of the Year – Paige Madden, Virginia
- Rookie Swimmer of the Year – Alex Walsh, Virignia
- Diver of the Year – Marina Toone, George Mason
- Rookie Diver of the Year – Hailey Fisher, George Mason; Maddie Freece, Liberty
- Coach of the Year – Todd DeSorbo, Virginia
First-Team All-State
- Sprint Free – Missy Cundiff, William & Mary
- Sprint Free – Lexi Cuomo, Virginia
- Sprint Free – Kate Douglass, Virginia
- Distance Free – Maddie Donohoe, Virginia
- Distance Free – Paige Madden, Virginia
- Back – Emma Atkinson, Virginia Tech
- Back – Reilly Tiltmann, Virginia
- Breast – Annie Tuttle, William & Mary
- Breast – Alexis Wenger, Virginia
- Fly – Abby Harter, Virginia
- Fly – Jessica Nava, Virginia
- IM – Ella Nelson, Virginia
- IM – Alex Walsh, Virginia
- Diving – Hailey Fisher, George Mason
- Diving – Jocelyn Porter, Virginia
- Diving – Marina Toone, George Mason
- 200 Free Relay – Virginia
- 400 Free Relay – Virginia
- 800 Free Relay – Virginia
- 200 Medley Relay – Virginia
- 400 Medley Relay – Virginia
Second-Team All-State
- Sprint Free – Lauren Medlin, Richmond
- Sprint Free – Sarah Shackelford, Virginia Tech
- Sprint Free – Katie Stevenson, William & Mary
- Distance Free – Elizabeth Intihar, William & Mary
- Distance Free – Julianna Jones, James Madison
Back – Madison Cottrell, James Madison - Back – Payton Keiner, Liberty
- Breast – Jacquee Clabeaux, George Mason
- Breast – Maggie Purcell, Richmond
- Fly – Lindsey Cohee, Liberty
- Fly – Madison Cottrell, James Madison
- IM – Reka Gygory, Virginia Tech
- IM – Maggie Purcell, Richmond
- Diving – Lauren Chennault, Liberty
- Diving – Maddie Freece, Liberty
- Diving – Emily Gross, James Madison
- 200 Free Relay – William & Mary
- 400 Free Relay – William & Mary
- 800 Free Relay – Richmond
- 200 Medley Relay – William & Mary
- 400 Medley Relay – Richmond
Way to go LU Flames!