Belanger Named Pac-12's Top Diver
March 22, 2018 | Swimming & Diving
SAN FRANCISCO -- UCLA's Eloise Belanger has been named the Pac-12 Diver of the Year, the conference announced Thursday. Belanger is the third Bruin winner of the award, joining Kristen Walls (1994) and Maria Polyakova (2017).
The junior secured Diver of the Meet recognition at the 2018 Pac-12 Swimming & Diving Championships, where she tallied the first two conference titles of her career. She joined Polyakova (2017) as the only Bruins to receive that honor and Walls (1993, 1994) as the only ones to win a pair of Pac-10/12 Championships at the same meet. Belanger turned in a final-round score of 324.40 on 1-meter (Feb. 24) before posting a 369.75 mark on 3-meter a day later. The junior became the lone diver to take fourth or better in all three diving events when she concluded her time in Federal Way, Wash. with a fourth-place mark on platform.
Still without a berth to NCAAs, Belanger went to the 2018 NCAA Zone E Championships in Flagstaff, Ariz. and did more than enough to earn her spot. The Montreal, QC, Canada native earned three, in fact, becoming the only participant to notch top-two finishes in each event.
At the NCAA meet in Columbus, Ohio, Belanger qualified for a pair of finals, taking secondโand 10th overallโin the 3-meter consolation group, before picking up an NCAA career-best third-place spot on platform with a score of 300.65 on her final five dives.
On four occasions, Belanger collected 1-meter and 3-meter wins at the same meet. On top of her standout performance at Pac-12s, she shined brightest at Arizona State (Nov. 4), the Bruin Diving Invitational (Jan. 12-14) and versus USC (Feb. 9). Belanger also won a platform contest against the Trojans (Feb. 10). She tacked on 1-meter victories at Arizona (Nov. 3) and the UGA Fall Invitational (Dec. 1-3).
It was an awards-filled junior season for Belanger, who won the conference's Diver of the Month award for December before adding a pair of Diver of the Week honors (Jan. 17, Feb. 14), as well. No swimmer or diver gathered more than two such accolades in 2017-18.
Belanger also made time during the season to turn in an impressive showing at the Winter Senior National Diving Championships in Saskatoon, SK, Canada. Competing alongside Canada's best divers in January, she registered a first-place finish on 1-meter and a third-place effort on 3-meter.
Players Mentioned
