Polyakova Earns Pac-12 Diver of the Month Award
December 06, 2018 | Swimming & Diving
LOS ANGELES โ UCLA redshirt senior Maria Polyakova has been named the Pac-12 Diver of the Month for November, it was announced by the league office on Thursday morning.
It was the fifth career Pac-12 weekly/monthly diving award for Polyakova, earning honors once as a junior in 2016-17, twice as a sophomore in 2015-16, and once as a freshman in 2014-15. She was also the Pac-12 Diver of the Year in 2016-17 and has been named a CSCAA All-American in all three of her previous seasons.ย
Polyakova excelled for the Bruins in the two November dual meets in which she competed, helping the Bruins to wins over Arizona and Arizona State. Of the four events she entered, she won three and finished runner-up in the fourth.
Her signature performance came against ASU on Nov. 3. In one-meter, she totaled a score of 355.50 to establish new school, pool, and meet records. That tally bested her previous school-record of 339.05 by over 15 points. She added a first-place finish in three-meter (339.75) to propel the Bruins to a 160-140 victory.
The day prior, she won 1m with a score of 310.88 and finished second in 3m with a score of 265.28 against Arizona.
Since that weekend, Polyakova has been training with the Russian National Team. Representing her home country, she finished fourth in 3m at the 2018 FINA Diving Grand Prix Gold Coast, totaling a score of 266.30.
"This has been a really nice start for Maria in her final season of NCAA competition," said UCLA head diving coach Tom Stebbins. "We still have a lot to work on, but we are happy she is being recognized for the long-term, consistent efforts Maria has given since arriving in Westwood."
UCLA is next in action on Jan. 7, hosting San Diego and Harvard for a meet at Spieker Aquatics Center. ย
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