June 28, 2001

LAS VEGAS - UNLV women's swimming star Lorena Diaconescu and men's swimming standout Andrew Livingston have been named Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year, respectively, the UNLV Women's Sports Foundation announced on Thursday.

Diaconescu is the second swimmer to win the UNLV Sportswoman of the Year Award after Mary Alice Torgerson was honored in 1994. A junior from Bucharest, Romania, Diaconescu is a two-time NCAA All-American following her 13th place finish in the 200 free at the 2001 Championships. She is also a 1996 and 2000 Olympian, competing for Romania. She just missed earning a medal in Australia, placing fourth in the 800 free relay.

At the 2001 Mountain West Conference Championships, Diaconescu won the 500 free, 200 free and 100 free. She swam the final leg of both the winning 400 and 800 free relays. She also repeated as the MWC Women's Swimmer of the Year.

Livingston earned his third NCAA All-America honor in 2001 with a 10th place finish in the 200 butterfly. He finished fifth in the 200 fly in 1999 NCAA Swimming Championships and 12th in 1998. He redshirted the 1999-2000 season to train for the 2000 Olympics, where he finished 13th in the 200 fly competing for Puerto Rico.

At the 2001 MWC Championships, Livingston won the 200 butterfly in 1:46.05.

Livingston is the third swimmer to be named Sportsman of the Year. Teammate Jacint Simon won the honor in 2000 and Erik Scalise was named in 1997.

"Being named Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year is a wonderful accomplishment," said UNLV Athletics Director Charles Cavagnaro. "Lorena and Andrew represent the best of what a student-athlete should be and we are proud to have them here at UNLV."

The Sportswoman of the Year award is voted on by members of the Women's Sports Foundation, while the Sportsman of the Year award is chosen by UNLV Olympic sports head coaches.