Therese Svendsen, Conference USA champion in the 200- and 100-yard backstroke events, garnered conference Freshman of the Year honors Wednesday, as announced by the league office.

The Malmo, Sweden native was a medley relay and backstroke specialist, guiding the Mustangs to their fourth Conference USA title and 13th overall conference title in school history.

Svendsen helped the Mustangs to eighth-place finishes in the 200 and 400 medley relays at the NCAA Championships in College Station. The Mustangs finished 19th overall.

In just her first season with the Mustangs, Svendsen already has received two conference awards. She picked up conference Swimmer of the Week honors in January.

Basel given ‘Spirit’ award

Also on Wednesday, senior Jennifer Basel was given the Conference USA Spirit of Service Award, which honors an athlete from each conference school during the three major athletic seasons.

Basel, a chemistry and mathematics major, was chosen because of her outstanding community service efforts. The award is given three times each year, for the fall, winter and spring sports.

According to a press release, Basel volunteers at Dallas’ Scottish Rite Hospital, which helps children with orthopedic injuries and deficiencies. She also participated in National Girls in Sports Day at SMU and spoke to middle school students at the school’s Visioneering event.

Football player Tommy Poynter won the award for SMU in the fall.

In the classroom, Basel earned a spot on the Conference USA All-Academic team during her junior season. In the pool, Basel was an All-American as a freshman and has been a consistent performer throughout her career.

She suffered an injury during her senior season, but she bounced back to win the 200 individual medley at the conference championships in Houston.