Gretchen Walsh, Chiara Pellacani Win CSCAA Division I Awards
Gretchen Walsh and Chiara Pellacani were recognized by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America as the swimmer and diver of the year on Monday.
Virginia’s Todd DeSorbo was named swim coach of the year, while Texas’ Matt Scoggin is the diving coach of the year. The awards are handed out on the back of last week’s NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
Walsh was named the Swimmer of the Year for a second straight season. The University of Virginia Star won the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly, setting NCAA marks in the 100 free and 100 fly. Walsh was also part of four winning relays. She finishes one of the most decorated careers in the history of short-course and NCAA swimming with 25 national championships, including nine individual, led by a four-peat in the 100 freestyle. She is a 27-time All-American.
Pellacani was named the CSCAA Diver of the Year after winning the 1-meter event and finishing second on 3-meter. The 1-meter result was a 1-2 with teammate Mia Vallee. The Italian Olympian was in her first year diving for the University of Miami in Florida after spending two years at LSU and redshirting in the 2023-24 season to prep for the Olympics.
DeSorbo is the CSCAA Swim Coach of the Year for the fifth straight year, leading Virginia to its fifth consecutive national championship. The Cavaliers won gold medals in 10 events and tallied 544 points. It’s the fourth straight season in which they’ve topped 500 points and falls slightly shy of the 2024 record point total of 551.5. The win ties Stanford’s run of five straight titles from 1992-96.
Scoggin is the Diving coach of the year for the sixth time. He guided Alejandra Estudillo Torres to the 3-meter title in her freshman season, one of three top-10 scorers in that event. The Longhorns, which finished third in the team standings, had three scorers in both springboard events, including fifth and sixth on 1-meter. Bayleigh Cranford was sixth on platform.
CSCAA also released the full list of All-America honorees, which is here.
