University of Tennessee Athletics
Helms Named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
February 24, 2012 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 24, 2012
A week after being named SEC Diver of the Year and winning a pair of titles, senior Ryan Helms picked up yet another conference honor Friday, this one of an academic kind.
Helms was voted the SEC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year by league coaches, the conference office announced. He shares the honor with Auburn's Kyle Owens.
The Vols' diving leader is on schedule to graduate with a degree in kinesiology. He has been on the SEC Academic Honor Roll the last two years and was a CSCAA Academic All-American in 2009.
So far, Helms' senior year has been his best on the diving boards. He earned his first two SEC gold medals last week by winning the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards with career-best scores. He leads the conference this year with a 3-meter score of 446.20.
He was named SEC Diver of the Year at the end of the conference meet. Mauricio Robles completed the first-ever Tennessee sweep of the three men's diving events by winning the platform with a score of 438.35.
Robles was named SEC Freshman Diver of the Year, becoming the first Vol to win that honor since Helms himself. Dave Parrington was voted the SEC Diving Coach of the Year on both the men's and women's side of competition.
The Vols divers return to action for the NCAA Zone B Championships, which runs March 5-7 in Auburn, Ala. The Vols will be looking to qualify for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships next month in Seattle.
