STANFORD, Calif. - No. 1 Stanford was well represented among this year's Pac-12 postseason awards, taking home three of the six awards given for women's swimming and diving. Mia Paulsen was named Diver of the Year, swimmer Emma Wheal was named Freshman of the Year and coach Patrick Jeffrey was named Diving Coach of the Year.
Following a sophomore year in which she was the Pac-12 Champion on platform and qualified for NCAA Championships in both platform and 3-meter, Paulsen continued her success into her junior campaign. Paulsen repeated her platform championship at Pac-12's and qualified for NCAA Championships in platform, 1-meter and 3-meter. At Zone E Championships, Paulsen finished in first place in platform with a score of 586.60, fourth in 1-meter (589.35) and 10th in 3-meter (573.60).
"Mia earned this award every day of this year," said head diving coach Patrick Jeffrey. "She brought a renewed dedication and fire to the pool deck every day, even through tough weeks of school and training all three diving events. She also took on a huge leadership role as a junior. She is the only upperclassman on our young diving team and was a great example to our whole team. I couldn't be more proud of her. I only wish she would have been able to finish the season at NCAA's. I could tell this was going to be the year she broke through on that level. I am also extremely thankful she'll be back for senior year. I believe it will be a fulfilling one!"
Freshman Emma Wheal came to The Farm from Austin, Texas, where she was a four-time All-American and was four-time all-state at Westlake HS. At Pac-12 Championships, Wheal was a member of the championship-winning 200-yard medley relay team. She also set personal bests at Pac-12's in the 50 free (22.26) and 100 free (49.11). Wheal swam a season-best 52.16 in the 100-yard butterfly at Pac-12's, qualifying her for the event at NCAA's.
During his six-year tenure, Patrick Jeffrey has been honored four times as Pac-12 Diving Coach of the Year award, winning twice as the women's top coach (2016, 2020) and twice as the men's top coach (2015, 2019). Under Jeffrey, three divers qualified for multiple NCAA events in 2020 and Paulsen won the Pac-12 championship in platform.
"My main focus on a daily basis is just to be good enough for my extremely dedicated diving student-athletes, the Stanford Swimming staff and the Stanford Athletic Department that put their trust in me. It is constantly top of mind that I live up to the position that has been entrusted to me," said Jeffrey. "Being at Stanford among so many amazing sports programs and coaches is a huge inspiration. To be able to work closely with world-class coaches like Greg and Tracy and with Stanford student-athletes is an extraordinary experience for which I am constantly grateful. And of course, I'd be remiss not to acknowledge the unwavering support of my volunteer assistant coach, Zach Whitaker."