Jake Taylor earns first-team All-America honors

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Junior captain Jake Taylor was named a first-team All-American with a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke (45.45) at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships Friday night.  

"I'm so proud of Jake and all the hard work he's put in," BYU head coach John Brooks said. "For him to come out here and do exactly what he wanted to is so awesome. It means a lot to our program for him to come out here and we are proud of the way he has represented BYU. He's hoping to come out tomorrow and earn another All-America honor in the 200-yard backstroke."

Taylor becomes the first men's Cougar swimmer to become an All-American since Brett Allen did it in the 50-yard freestyle in 2007. Taylor finished fourth and swam a 45.34 in the preliminaries, a new BYU record, and held his fourth-place spot Friday night in the finals. The top-five finish from the junior put the BYU men in the top-25 at the end of competition Friday.

Taylor will look to earn his second All-America honor Saturday as he competes in the 200 back on the last day of the NCAA Championships.