On Friday, SMU sophomore swimmer Therese Svendsen was named Conference USA Swimmer of the Year. In order to bestow this honor, a vote is taken of the head coaches of the league.

It is not the first major award for Svendsen. As a freshman she was named C-USA Freshman of the Year.

She was a constant standout this year. At the NCAA Championships she came in first-place with her time of 52.65 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke. This earned her an NCAA “A” Qualifying Time.  She also finished first in the 200-yard backstroke with an impressive time of 1:54.98. She achieved two NCAA “B” qualifying times in the 100- and 200- LC meter backstrokes this season at the Missouri Grand Prix.

Svendsen was also named C-USA Swimmer of the Week during this season.
As a sophomore, she has proven her talent and will undoubtedly be a threat during the rest of her college career.

University of Houston had two athletes with similar honors. Anastasia Pozdniakova was named Diver of the Year and teammate Julia Lonnegren was named Freshman Diver of the Year.