It was officially announced on Tuesday that the University of Redlands earned eight All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) awards among 11 Bulldogs for their top-three finishes at the recent championship meets.
Highlighting the Maroon and Gray women is senior Sami Scarano (Boulder, CO) for being named SCIAC Diver of the Year for her stellar performances all season. For the first time in her career, Scarano not only medaled off of one dive she landed amongst the top-three off of the 1-meter and 3-meter boards for a podium finish on both days.
Scarano finished in third place off the 3-meter board with a final score of 389.85 on day one. She then returned to Axelrood Pool the next day to take the gold medal off the 1-meter board with a 422.80 score. During the regular season, Scarano consistently took medalist honors off both boards landing her the SCIAC Diver of Week award six times this year.
On the swimming side, senior Julia Hagenbaumer (Naperville, IL) led the Bulldog women among the honorees with three awards, one individual and two relays. She fired off a school-record time of 1:04.04 beating her own record from 2019 for an NCAA "B" cut in the 100 Breast for first place. Hagenbaumer then paired up with junior Olivia Cano (Dublin, CA) and sophomores Sydney Nakagawa (Vancouver, WA) and Makenna Parenti (Rocklin, CA) in the 200 and 400 Medley Relays for a pair of bronze-medal performances. The quartet touched the wall in 1:45.74 in the 200 Medley Relay and 3:54.07 in the 400 Medley Relay, impressively, resetting the school records in both events.
The men's team gained four All-SCIAC awards in a solid showing, with junior Jack McCormick (Santa Rosa, CA) and sophomore Samuel Ayers (Orinda, CA) each earning one as individuals and two with a relay. McCormick and Ayers both took home a silver medal, as McCormick clocked a time of 20.85 in the 50 Free while Ayers swam a 45.56 in the 100 Free. These marks place the duo among the Bulldogs' top-10 times as well.
McCormick and Ayers first teamed up with senior Matt Skinner (Lakewood, CO) and first-year Jack Forsythe (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) in the 200 Free Relay. The foursome touched the wall in 1:22.79 for third-place while also resetting the Redlands record in that event.
Finally, the talented tandem joined forces with junior Rafael Zasas (Johannesburg, South Africa) and first-year Blake Eddow (Corona, CA) in the 400 Free Relay with a second-place time of 3:03.78 to earn All-Conference honors and a top-10 school record.
For a complete list of All-SCIAC honorees, please visit the conference website, click here for the women, and here for the men.
Scarano looks forward to competing at the NCAA Diving Regionals at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas on Friday, February 28, and Saturday, February 29.