COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The San Diego State swim and dive program continued to merit recognition from the Mountain West for its record-setting campaign, as Alex Roberts earned MW Swimmer of the Year honors, while Mike Shrader garnered MW Swim Coach of the Year accolades. The announcement was made Thursday by the league office.
With her acclaim, Roberts earned her first conference postseason award and gave the Aztecs their fourth straight MW Swimmer of the Year honoree after Klara Thormalm received such distinction in three consecutive seasons from 2020-22.
Shrader, who is completing his 16th campaign at the helm of the Aztecs, was commended as the Mountain West's top swim coach for the second year in a row and ninth time since his arrival on The Mesa prior to the 2007-08 season.
A native of Visalia, California, Roberts merited five all-conference plaudits at the 2023 Mountain West Championships, highlighted by a pair gold-medal winning performances in the 100 and 200 backstroke while contributing to SDSU's victorious 200 and 400 medley relay teams. She also took home a bronze medal in the 100 butterfly.
Roberts qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 200 back after setting a conference and school record with a winning time of 1:52.89 at the MW meet. She was also invited to compete in 100 back and 100 fly at the NCAA Championships thanks to her efforts in those events at the league meet as well.
Roberts posted a career-fast mark of 52.49 in the 100 back after swimming that segment in the Aztecs' triumphant 400 medley relay, which ranks second in program history. She also logged a personal-best 53.29 in the finals of the 100 fly, climbing into fifth place on the school's all-time charts.
Not to be outdone, Roberts recorded SDSU's second-fastest all-time relay split of 24.47 in the 50 backstroke after completing that portion of the Aztecs' victorious 200 medley relay at the MW Championships.
Last fall, Roberts won two event titles in the 100 and 200 backstroke at the highly competitive SMU Invitational in Dallas, Texas, propelling the Scarlet and Black to the team championship. She also finished fifth in the 200 IM with a collegiate-best swim of 2:01.39, which ranks 11th in program history. For her efforts, Roberts received MW Swimmer of the Week recognition.
Meanwhile, under Shrader's direction, SDSU captured its fourth Mountain West championship in the last five years and seventh overall since 2011, compiling a conference-record 1,638 team points at the 2023 MW meet, Feb. 15-18, in Houston Texas.
In all, Shrader's charges captured 10 individual gold medals and swept all five relay events at the conference championships, earning a league-high 59 all-Mountain West honors. Not to be outdone, Wilma Johansson garnered MW Swimmer of the Meet accolades, while Moa Bergdahl merited Freshman of the Meet distinction thanks to his tutelage.
In addition, Shrader led the Aztecs to their eighth undefeated dual-meet ledger in the last nine seasons, with the Scarlet and Black posting a 14-0 record during the 2022-23 campaign. As a result, SDSU has extended its victory streak to 50 consecutive dual meets since Jan. 8, 2018, a span of over five years.
Along with Roberts, Shrader coached two other NCAA participants this season in Kristina Murphy and Christiana Williams, who both qualified for the national meet in the 200 breaststroke. Murphy was also selected to compete in the 200 and 400 individual medley based on NCAA "B" Cut times throughout the season, while Williams received an additional invitation for the 100 breaststroke.
Last fall, Shrader guided the Aztecs to the team title at the highly competitive SMU Invitational, giving SDSU four meet crowns in 13 regular-season invitationals since the start of the 2017-18 campaign to go with an additional seven second-place efforts and a pair of third -place results in that span.
San Diego State closes out its regular-season schedule on Thursday, April 20, when it battles the University of San Diego in a long course meet at Aztec Aquaplex. First swim is set for noon PT.
Roberts and Shrader Earn MW Postseason Honors
