Towson’s Jack Saunderson Named CAA Men’s Swimmer Of The Year

Towson’s Jack Saunderson concluded a terrific sophomore campaign with another honor on Thursday after being named 2017 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Swimmer of the Year. UNCW redshirt junior Allen Crosby and Drexel freshman Anthony Musciano shared CAA Men’s Diver of the Year accolades, with Musciano also picking up Rookie Diver of the Year honors.

William & Mary freshman Colin Wright became the fourth Tribe swimmer in the past six seasons to win the CAA Rookie Swimmer of the Year award. Similarly, the Tribe’s Matt Crispino was named Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season, and Drexel’s Emily Howard earned her first career Men’s Diving Coach of the Year award. All awards announced by the conference followed a vote by the league’s head coaches.

Swimmer of the Year – Jack Saunderson, Towson
The sophomore is just the second Tiger to win the top individual conference honor in men’s swimming, joining former TU standout Aaron Krause, who earned the award in 2003 and 2004. Saunderson, who received Rookie Swimmer of the Year honors in 2016, made his first career NCAA Championships appearance last weekend and placed 16^th overall in the 200-yard butterfly, obtaining Honorable Mention All-America honors. He tied for the most individual points in last month’s CAA Championships with 56, capturing gold in the 100 and 200 butterfly events, and setting program, conference title meet, and conference all-time records along the way. Saunderson’s 47.01 performance in the 100 fly is a new all-time CAA and school record, while his 200 fly time of 1:41.84, set at the NCAA Championships trials, is also a new league and program all-time record. The Laurel, Md., native is the first CAA student-athlete to win CAA Rookie and CAA Swimmer of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons since Tom Koucheravy accomplished the feat for George Mason in 2004-05.

Diver of the Year – Allen Crosby, UNCW
Crosby’s highest finish at the CAA Championships prior to this season came in 2016 when he placed second on the 1-meter board, but the redshirt junior left no doubt on the same board this year. He won gold with a top score of 313.45 for his first career diving title. Crosby reached the podium for the second time at the 2017 championship on the final day of competition, turning in a third-place finish on the 3-meter board (299.80). Crosby is the first UNCW diver to win the award since 2008.

Diver of the Year and Rookie Diver of the Year – Anthony Musciano, Drexel
Musciano joins former Drexel great David Sanchez in 2013 as the last athlete to win both Diver and Rookie Diver of the Year in the same season. The freshman captured gold on the 3-meter (326.45) at this year’s league championships and grabbed silver on the 1-meter (295.75), finishing with 37 total points – the most for any diver at the title meet. Musciano capped his first CAA Championship with Most Outstanding Diver of the Meet honors, becoming the third consecutive Dragon to win the honor.

Rookie Swimmer of the Year – Colin Wright, William & Mary
Wright’s 53 individual points at the 2017 CAA Championships was tied for second behind teammate Carter Kale. The freshman shined for the Tribe over the four-day title meet, impressively sweeping the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events while becoming the second freshman to accomplish the feat in league history. Wright won the 50 free in 19.96, which was the first performance in the event under 20 seconds in Tribe program history. The Williamsburg, Va., native added to his team’s third straight CAA title with three victories in relay events, including swimming the lead leg on the Green and Gold’s record-setting 200 free relay squad that set an all-time conference record in 1:19.03.

Swimming Coach of the Year – Matt Crispino, William & Mary
After leading the Tribe to their third straight Men’s Swimming and Diving CAA title, Crispino again was honored with the top coaching award. William & Mary placed six individual swimmers in the top 10 for individual points at the 2017 championships and won four of the meet’s five team relays for the third time in as many years.

Diving Coach of the Year – Emily Howard, Drexel
Howard is the fourth Drexel coach to win the CAA Men’s Diving Coach of the Year honor and just the third female honoree to win the award since 2004. In just her second season at the helm, the Dragons had three student-athletes win medals at the CAA Championships, including a 3-meter title from freshman Anthony Musciano (326.45).
Musciano, who won silver on the 1-meter board, was tabbed 2017 Outstanding Diver of the Meet, giving Drexel its third consecutive individual Outstanding Championship performer.

Along with honoring the top award winners in men’s swimming and diving, numerous individuals and team relays garnered All-CAA accolades based on their performances at the 2017 CAA Championships. The conference also announced its All-Academic team, seen below.