SWIMMING and DIVING: Bulldogs Nominated for 2017 Golden Goggles Awards

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SWIMMING and DIVING: Bulldogs Nominated for 2017 Golden Goggles Awards

Chase Kalisz UGA Men's Swimming and Diving Team (Photo by Cory A. Cole  / Georgia Sports Communication)
Chase Kalisz
UGA Men’s Swimming and Diving Team
(Photo by Cory A. Cole / Georgia Sports Communication)

 
 
Georgia’s Chase Kalisz and Jack Bauerle have been nominated for individual 2017 Golden Goggles Awards, according to an announcement by USA Swimming.

 
The Golden Goggles Awards – celebrating the nation’s top swimmers and coaches – will be presented Sunday, Nov. 19, in Los Angeles.
 
 
Kalisz earned nominations for Male Athlete of the Year and for Male Race of the Year (the 400-meter individual medley at the 2017 FINA World Championships). Bauerle picked up a nomination as Coach of the Year.
 
 
In addition, the United States’ women’s 400-meter freestyle and medley relays at the World Championships were selected in the Relay Performance of the Year category. Georgia’s Olivia Smoliga swam on both relays in the preliminaries.
 
 
Kalisz completed his collegiate career in March by winning the NCAA 400-yard individual medley title in record-setting fashion as he lowered the American, U.S. Open, NCAA, NCAA Championships, Georgia and pool records to 3:33.42.
 
 
Kalisz then claimed the 200- and 400-meter individual titles at the World Championships in Hungary, becoming the first American to sweep the IM since 2011. In the 400, Kalisz pulled away on the breaststroke leg and cruised to the finish in 4:05.90, nearly 2½ seconds ahead of the silver medalist, Hungary’s David Verraszto (4:08.38). Kalisz broke the meet record of 4:06.22 that training partner Michael Phelps set in 2007. Only Phelps (4:03.84), Ryan Lochte (4:05.18) and now Kalisz have ever been under 4:06 in the event.
 
 
Bauerle, Georgia’s Tom Cousins Head Swimming and Diving Coach, led the Lady Bulldogs to a fourth-place finish at the 2017 NCAAs – their ninth straight top-5 effort – and his Kalisz-led Bulldogs came in eighth. A 7-time NCAA and 18-time SEC Coach of the Year, Bauerle is the NCAA’s winningest active combined (548) and women’s (319) coach. His teams have accumulated 44 top-10 finishes at the national meet, including seven NCAA titles by the Lady Bulldogs.
 
 
Bauerle’s teams were successful outside the water, too, as Chantal Van Landeghem was chosen as an Academic All-American, Van Landeghem and Rachel Zilinskas received NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, and 18 swimmers and divers were picked as CSCAA Scholar All-Americans.
 
 
After being inducted into the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame in May, Bauerle served as a United States’ men’s assistant coach during the World Championships. Eleven of Bauerle’s swimmers – Kalisz, Smoliga, Van Landeghem, Javier Acevedo, Pace Clark, Hali Flickinger, Andrew Gemmell, Nicolas Fink, Matias Koski, Jay Litherland and Melanie Margalis – advanced to the World Championships and claimed nine medals.
 
 
Online fan voting is now open and will continue through Friday, Nov. 10. CLICK HERE to cast your vote. A percentage of the fan vote will count towards the final ballot. Proceeds from the Golden Goggles Awards benefit the USA Swimming Foundation, which has the mission to save lives and build champions in the pool and in life.
 
 
 
 

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