Lopez Arevalo, McDonald Earn MW Postseason Honors
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The San Diego State swim and dive program received continued acclaim for another highly successful campaign from the Mountain West on Thursday, as Valentina Lopez Arevalo earned MW Diver of the Year honors, while Roland McDonald garnered MW Dive Coach of the Year laurels. The announcement was made Tuesday by the conference office.
With her accolade, Lopez Arevalo collected her first career conference postseason award and gave the Aztec program a MW Athlete of the Year recipient for the seventh straight year after Alex Roberts (2023-24) and Klara Thormalm (2020-22) received conference Swimmer of the Year distinction in each of the previous five seasons, while Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez (2018-20) was twice tabbed MW Diver of the Year.
Additionally, McDonald was recognized as the MW’s top dive coach for the second year in a row and the fourth time in his 15 seasons at San Diego State after earning the honor in 2019, 2020 and 2024. He also becomes the third coach in MW history to merit at least four conference Dive Coach of Year plaudits.
A native of Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, Lopez Arevalo was the lone Mountain West diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships after finishing sixth on the 3-meter springboard at the NCAA Zone E Championships earlier in March.
With her zone performance, SDSU swim and dive program extended its streak of qualifying at least one student-athlete to the national meet to 15 consecutive seasons.
In February, Lopez Arevalo was named Mountain West Diver of the Meet after helping the Aztecs capture their fourth consecutive conference championship and sixth in the last seven years. The Aztec senior compiled 92 points across three events at the MW Championships, which marked the highest individual total in the field of competitors. She took home gold medals in the 3-meter and platform events while winning a silver medal on the 1-meter board.
With her efforts, Lopez Arevalo’s MW Diver of the Meet award marked the fourth time an SDSU student-athlete earned such honors after Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez received the same honors in 2019 and 2022.
During the 2024-25 campaign, Lopez Arevalo captured 13 event titles (five in the 1-meter springboard and four apiece on the 3-meter springboard and platform tower), collecting three Mountain West Diver of the Week awards in the process.
Meanwhile, McDonald directed the overall success of the Aztec diving contingent, as all six competitors qualified for at least one event at the NCAA Zone E Championships.
Under McDonald’s guidance, Alina Skrocki and Summer Westmoreland also received all-MW recognition at the conference meet with a pair of top-eight placements. Skrocki finished sixth from the platform tower, while Westmoreland took eighth on the 1-meter board.
During the season, McDonald’s charges produced seven career marks, including Westmoreland, who finished second in the platform event at the Riverside Collegiate Invitational with a score of 252.90, which ranks seventh on the program’s all-time charts, while Skrocki’s second-place total of 321.55 points on the 3-meter board at the same meet is slotted ninth in school history.
Prior to his arrival at San Diego State, McDonald was a three-time Diving Coach of the Year in the former Colonial Athletic Association at George Mason University.