GRANVILLE, Ohio (February 22, 2024) – Denison University has been named the 2023-24 North Coast Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year for women's diving, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.

Coach Russ Bertram claims his second straight and sixth overall Women's Coaching Staff of the Year award since 2017 after Denison swept the top-three spots in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events at the 2024 NCAC Championship.

Junior Kerstyn Johnson was named NCAC Women's Diver of the Year for the second straight year after bringing home the conference title in the 1-meter dive and finishing just 0.15 points away from winning the 3-meter dive. Johnson is the first Big Red diver to earn back-to-back Diver of the Year awards since Allison Fitzgerald, who won it in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

On Thursday, the 1-meter dive saw Johnson (452.60) earn the win in the finals. She was followed by Alexis Radhakrishnan (433.90) in second and Lu-Si Minnich (428.75) in third. Then in an extremely exciting finish in the 3-meter dive on Saturday, Minnich (474.00) just outscored Johnson (473.85) to earn her first-career conference title while in third place was Radhakrishnan (463.60).

Each of Denison's top-three scores in both women's diving events were good for an NCAA Division III provisional regional qualifying score.

Bertram has also earned Men's Diving Coach of the Year honors four times in his 11-year career at Denison.

NCAC Release