Busch named NCAA Coach of Year for the second time

The UA women's swim and dive team enjoyed a banner week over spring break.

Not only did the Wildcats finish third at last weekend's NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas, but head coach Frank Busch was also named NCAA Coach of the Year. It was his second time receiving the award.

To top it off, junior Emily Mason took the national title in the 400-meter freestyle, breaking the NCAA record in the event by posting a time of 4:01.58.

"It was a fantastic team effort," Busch said. "We had 11 All-Americans contributing to our third-place finish. I'd say that is pretty awesome."

Mason said that after showing up late to the race, she hardly expected to swim the second fastest time in the world.

"I can't believe that I won," Mason said. "First of all, this was my first time to actually make the finals in the 400 free, and I was incredibly late to the start of the race. That got my adrenaline running pretty good, and it didn't give me time to settle down and think about the race too much. So maybe I should be late every time!"

Mason also broke school records in the 200 free and 400 IM, but she wasn't alone in her record-breaking effort. Arizona's other record-breakers included sophomore Marshi Smith (50 free), junior Jessica Hayes (100 free), freshman Whitney Myers (100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM), and the Wildcat 200 free and 800 free relay teams.