April 21, 2003

The University of Kentucky men’s and women’s diving teams received three Southeastern Conference awards on Monday. Senior Clayton Moss was named Male Diver of the Year, freshman Jessica Thompson was named Female Freshman Diver of the Year and Mike Lyden was named Men’s Diving Coach of the Year.

Moss, an eight-time All-American, won the award for the second consecutive year. The Doerun, Ga., native finished his career as the only UK diver to earn All-America honors on the one-meter, three-meter and platform events. Moss is a three-time SEC champion and this past year he won the three-meter title and finished second on both the one-meter and platform at the SEC Championships in February at Auburn. His 54 points were the third highest individual point total in the event. At this year’s NCAA championship in Austin, Texas, he finished third on the one-meter, second on the three-meter and fourth on the platform on his way to being named Male Diver of the Meet.

Thompson, a native of Mathews, N.C., was the only freshman to reach the finals in the three-meter and platform events at the SEC Championships. She also had several top-five finishes over the course of the season. Lyden receives his second consecutive Coach of the Year award.

“This is a great honor,” Lyden said. “Clayton definitely saved his best year for last. Jessica is a very talented freshman and both are very deserving of the awards they received.”