TUCSON, Ariz. – Senior Kevin Cordes has been named the 2015 Men’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Pac-12 Conference. The award has been established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline.
A senior from Naperville, Ill., Cordes has had tremendous success throughout his entire career with the Wildcats. He is not only an 11-time All-American, but he also won a NCAA title in the 100 breast and 200 medley relay in just his freshman year. Cordes broke the pool and Arizona record in the 100 breast at the Texas Invitational.
In his sophomore year, he earned a second NCAA title in the 100 breast and was the national champion in the 200 breast. Cordes then went to win NCAA titles in the 100 breast and 200 breast, resetting the American, U.S. Open, NCAA and school records his junior year. He currently holds the record in the 100 breast at 50.04 and 1:48.66 in the 200 breast. Cordes also won a NCAA title in the 400 medley relay, holding the fastest time in school history in the event, as well as in the 200 medley relay. He was named Pac-12 Swimmer of the Year and NCAA Swimmer of the Year both seasons.
This season, Kevin posted an NCAA “A” cut in both the 100 breast and 200 breast, while also posting a “B” cut in the 200 medley relay. At the Pac-12 Championships, he earned an “A” cut in the 400 medley relay. Cordes has finished first in the 100 breast six times this season including at the Texas Invitational and Pac-12 Championships and has taken first four times in the 200 breast. At Pac-12 Championships, he also won another title in the 100 breast, bringing his career total to five individual Pac-12 titles.
In 2012, Cordes won gold medals in both the 100 breast and 200 breast, breaking the American, meet and U.S. Open records at the AT&T U.S. Winter National Championships. While competing for Team USA in the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, he won a gold medal in the 400 medley relay and bronze in the 100 breast. Cordes finished third in the 100 breast finals and 12th in the 200 breast semifinals at the 2012 Olympic Trials.
Outside of the pool, Cordes maintains a 3.387 with a major in Finance. Throughout his career, Cordes was named CSCAA Scholar All-American and Capital One Academic All-American in 2013. In addition, he also earned Pac-12 Second-Team All-Academic honors.
In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50% of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport’s regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award.
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