Pac-12 Announces Men’s Swimmer and Diver of the Month

SAN FRANCISCO - The Conference office announced today Ryan Murphy of CALIFORNIA was named Pac-12 Men's Swimmer of the Month and Rafael Quintero was voted Men's Diver of the Month for January.

Murphy (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) had a very successful January, competing in eight official races in three meets and earning first-place finishes in six races and second-place finishes in the other two. At the Arena Pro Series in Austin, Texas, the junior won 200 backstroke (long course meters, 1:55.99) against a strong field that included Olympian Matt Grevers as well as two-time Olympic medalist Arkady Vyatchanin. Murphy also took second place in the 100 back stroke (long course meters, 53.46), facing Grevers again, the defending Olympic gold medalist in the event who won with a time of 53.35. In the dual meet against Arizona, Murphy helped lead the Golden Bears to a victory by earning first-place finishes in the 200 backstroke (1:41.20), 50 freestyle (19.84) and 400 medley relay (leadoff leg, 3:10.63). In the dual meet win over Arizona State, Murphy won the 100 fly with a time of 46.95 and took second in the 200 medley relay at 1:37.03. He also swam leadoff for the 200 medley relay leading the quartet to a victory in 1:26.98. This is his first-career monthly accolade and the eighth all-time for California.

Quintero (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) earned his second-straight Pac-12 Diver of the Month honor and now has the third-most in Conference history with four all-time. The senior earned earned four first-place finishes in back-to-back meets against No. 2 California and No. 5 Stanford. In the meet against the Golden Bears, Quintero won the 1-meter competition with a score of 383.55, 75.9 points ahead of the next diver. He also posted a score of 375.45 in the 3-meter. Against Stanford, Quintero finished first in the 1-meter with 377.18. He also won the 3-meter with a score of 412.88 and a 63.68 point differential. All four scores qualify him for the NCAA 2016 men's diving regional championships. With Quintero's honor, Arizona now has seven monthly honorees, the second-most in league history.

ALSO NOMINATED
Swimmer: Richard Bohus, ASU; Liam Egan, STAN; Kristian Kron, UTAH.
Diver:  David Hoffer, ASU; Jacob Crayne, UTAH.

2015-16 PAC-12 MEN'S SWIMMER AND DIVER OF THE MONTH