HONOLULU-- The University of Hawai'i swimming and diving team wrapped up its season with multiple yearly awards as announced by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation on Thursday afternoon.
 
Senior Phoebe Hines reclaimed the honor of being named the Female Swimmer of the Year for the second consecutive season. Her award marks the sixth successive year a UH student-athlete has won the award. Hines won two individual and one team title at the MPSF Championships as she clinched gold in the 500 free and 1650 free events while pairing up for a victory in the 400 free relay. She also qualified for the NCAA Championships in multiple events, including the 1650 free, 500 free, and 200 free. On top of her accomplishments, Hines also finished the season ranked No. 12 in the 1650 free and No. 24 in the 500 free.
 
Fellow senior Olli Kokko joins Hines in being crowned the MPSF Male Swimmer of the Year, the first yearly conference honor of his career. At the conference championships, Kokko won an individual and two team titles, claiming first place in the 100 breast and was a contributing member on the 200 and 400 medley relay teams. Before the season ended, he qualified for the NCAA Championships in two events, including the 100 and 200 breast. He also holds the ninth-best time in the country for the 100 breast event.
 
"Olli (Kokko) and Phoebe (Hines) are great leaders inside and outside of the pool," said head coach Elliot Ptasnik. "The impact they've had on our program over these years has been remarkable. Both are well deserving of their awards, and they represent our university at a very high level."
 
Sophomore Daphne Wils, a late addition on the season for the program in January, made her presence be known and was crowned as the MPSF Female Diver of the Year. She set two new MPSF records in the one-meter and three-meter dives at the MPSF Championships, breaking both UH records in the process. Placing her above Emma Friesen in the one-meter and Qiong Jie Huang in the three-meter in the UH record book, both previous NCAA diving champions. Along with her record-breaking performances, she won both events at the conference championships. She was on her way to her first career appearance at the NCAA Championships in both events before the championships were canceled.
 
Since being becoming a member of the MPSF in 2013, UH has had a student-athlete win the conference Female Diver of the Year award eight consecutive years.
 
"All three have had to overcome so much to get to this point in their careers," said Ptasnik. "I'm proud of their accomplishments, and so is our entire program. To get to this level isn't easy, and to get these type of awards isn't easy. It's because of their dedication every day they've made it to this point."
 
The accolades for the program's coaching staff keep adding up as head diving coach Mike Brown, and assistant diving coach Anita Rossing were appointed as Co- Women's Dive Coaches of the Year. The 2020 award marks the eighth straight year Brown and Rossing have shared the award on the women's side. For Brown, it's the 15th time he has been named coach of the year on the women's team at UH between the MPSF and Western Athletic Conference.
 
The program also claimed both the Male and Female Coach of the Year award for the third consecutive season, but it marks the first time Ptasnik has been deemed with the honor. Ptasnik has kept the trend of progressing up, moving UH more into the national scene since taking over in the spring of 2019. He led the program to repeat conference championships on both the men's and women's side while coaching several student-athletes to breaking countless program records and conference records.
 
"I'm honored, but it's not about me," said Ptasnik. "Mike and Anita are two of the best in our business and are deserving of their awards every year. I want to thank them, our entire staff, plus everyone else involved to make it all possible. Our administration, support staff, trainers, and everyone dedicated to our program, it's because of them I'm able to accept the award. I share this honor with everyone."