Arizona swimmer Cordes named Swimmer of the Month for second time

By CAMERON MOON Published January 9, 2013 at 1:14am Updated January 9, 2013 at 1:14am

Sophomore swimmer Kevin Cordes is following up a freshman campaign in which he was named a four-time All-American and won an individual national championship in the backstroke with more success.

The Pac-12 conference announced Tuesday that Cordes had been named Swimmer of the Month for the second month in a row.

In November, Cordes broke two American records in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke, proving that his national championship freshman year was not a fluke.

The Naperville, Ill., native competed in the FINA World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, in November and brought home two medals, a bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke and a gold in the 4×100-meter medley relay, where his teammates included the likes of Olympians Matt Grevers, Ryan Lochte and Tom Shields.

This is Cordes’ third career Swimmer of the Month award and only the eighth in the history of the Arizona swim program.

Cordes is no stranger to success. After his freshman season, Cordes was named Arizona Athletics’ Male Freshman Athlete of the Year and earned his All-American honors after finishing second in the 400-meter medley relay, and he broke a pool and UA record in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Texas Invite.

At the 2012 Olympic Trials, Cordes placed third in the 100-meter breaststroke finals and 12th in the 200-meter breast semifinals.

In high school, Cordes earned all-Conference honors in three of his four years and was a state champion in 2008.

Cordes was also recruited by California, USC, Auburn, and Virginia.