North Carolina and Indiana Dominate Lists of College Aquatic Sport Athletes Weekly Honors

Above photo courtesy University of North Carolina Athletics

The next wave of weekly honors for fast college swimmers and impressive divers are pouring in today, with several schools taking the bulk of their conference honors. North Carolina had a sweep of all four of the Atlantic Coast Conference awards, while Indiana won all but one of the Big Ten Conference honors.

Atlantic 10 Conference

Male Swimmer of the Week: Zack Billingsley, Saint Louis University
Billingsley, a senior from Lexington, Ill., won four events at Western Illinois including breaking two pool records in the relays. He swam leadoff in the 200-yard freestyle relay, turning in a personal best split of 21.33, as the team finished in 1:24.88. He also swam anchor in the 200-yard medley relay, which finished with a time of 1:34.53. Individually, Billingsley also won the 50-yard breaststroke (26.74) and 100-yard breaststroke (59.35).

Female Swimmer of the Week: Lauren Malachowski, Davidson
Malachowski, a junior from Austin, Texas., earned Davidson’s lone event win over the weekend against East Carolina, finishing the 100-yard breaststroke in 59.22 seconds, and also competed in the 100 free (54.32).

Male Rookie of the Week: Ryan McCoy, Saint Louis University
McCoy, a native of Phoenix, Ariz., recorded his second consecutive weekly honor after breaking three pool records against Western Illinois. McCoy was a member of the 200-yard medley relay team that touched the wall at 1:34.53. He also won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:38.32 and the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:41.90. Both of those pool records were 36 years old.

Female Rookie of the Week: Annie Lane, Richmond
Lane, a freshman from Vinton, Va., made the most of her first collegiate meet, helping the Spiders to wins over Old Dominion and UNC Wilmington this weekend at the UNCW Natatorium. She won the first individual meet of the weekend, the 1000 Free (10:27.58) and then later winning the 200 Free (1:54.51) and 500 Free (5:05.58), posting wins in all three individual events that she swam for the team. She also appeared in two team relays for Richmond in their pair of wins.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Male Swimmer of the Week: Ben Colley, North Carolina

Colley won two individual events against Tennessee and swam on the victorious 400-yard freestyle relay. Colley swam away from the field in both butterfly events, winning the 100-yard event in 47.54 and the 200-yard event in 1:45.67, both times ranking No. 1 in all of NCAA Division I. Colley also anchored the Tar Heels’ relay with a leg split of 44.26, the fastest split of any swimmer in the event.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Hellen Moffitt, North Carolina

Moffitt grabbed ACC Female Swimmer of the Week after posting three individual wins and swimming on one winning relay as she helped power the Tar Heels over the Volunteers. Moffitt met NCAA B qualifying times in all three of her individual events; the 100-yard backstroke (53.49), the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.79) and the 100-yard butterfly (53.73). She also led off the victorious 200-yard medley relay with a 50-yard backstroke time of 24.90.

Male Diver of the Week: Jack Nyquist, North Carolina
Nyquist easily won the 1-meter diving competition with 371.63 points, finishing more than 17 points ahead of the runner-up in the event. Nyquist finished second in the 3-meter diving competition with 412.43 points, being edged by just .22 of a point by Mauricio Robles of Tennessee, who was a first-team All-American last year.

Female Diver of the Week: Michole Tim, North Carolina
Timm, a transfer from the University of New Mexico, scored 319.20 points on the 1-meter board, being edged by her own teammate, Elissa Dawson by just 1.2 points. Later in the meet, Timm set the school record in the three-meter diving event with a score of 352.55 points. The redshirt senior’s score was more than 20 points more than the previous university record of 331.45 points scored by Jenna Moore in 2011.

Big East Conference

Male Swimmer of the Week: Ben Mitchell, Seton Hall
The senior diver swept the one- and three-meter boards in his first outing of the season and qualified for the NCAA zone meet in the three meter during Seton Hall’s victory 185-95 victory over Montclair State last Wednesday. Mitchell came within four points of his own school record with a score of 322.35 from the three-meter board, which qualified him for the zone meet next spring. His 299.4 points off the one-meter board were just six-tenths shy of another zone qualifying mark. Both scores automatically qualified him for the 2015 BIG EAST Championship.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Paxtyn Drew, Xavier
Drew posted the 10th-fastest 200-yard back time in school history against Louisville last week, touching the wall in 2:07.08 to take fourth in her team’s 204-56 loss to the Cardinals. She added a fifth-place showing, the fastest of any XU swimmer, in the women’s 100 back with a time of 58.55 Drew qualified for the BIG EAST Championship in both events, eclipsing the A-cut in the 100 back by nearly 10 percent.

Big Ten Conference

Male Swimmer of the Week: Anze Tavcar, Indiana
Winning the 50 and 100 freestyles in the dual meet against Auburn went a long way in helping the sophomore earn his first Swimmer of the Week honor. Tavcar beat a talented field in the 50 free with a 20.16 and won the 100 in an impressive 44.09. He also helped the Hoosiers win the 400 free relay over reigning NCAA champions Auburn.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Brooklynn Snodgrass, Indiana

Snodgrass won her specialty, the 200 backstroke, by nearly five seconds in the dual meet against Auburn. Snodgrass, the reigning NCAA champion in the 200 back, recorded the fastest time in the nation with her swim.

Male Diver of the Week: James Connor, Indiana
Connor’s first meet as a Hoosier resulted in a bit of an upset on both springboards, beating reigning NCAA champion and teammate Michael Hixon. The Australia native beat Hixon by just two points on the 1-meter and five points on the 3-meter board.

Female Diver of the Week: Anna Filipcic, Nebraska
The sophomore won both diving events in the dual meet against Nebraska-Omaha, scoring a personal best 309.45 on the 1-meter and earning 337.65 points on 3-meter.

Male Freshman of the Week: Ali Khalafalla, Indiana

In his first collegiate race, Khalafalla outswam Auburn on the freestyle leg to help Indiana win the 200 medley relay. He returned to place third in the 50 free with a 20.67. The Egypt-born sprinter capped off the meet by helping the Hoosiers win the 400 free relay over Auburn, the reigning NCAA champion in the event.

Female Freshman of the Week: Kennedy Goss, Indiana

Goss used a strong final 50 yards to win the 200 freestyle in the dual meet against Auburn with a 1:48.75 and employed the same strategy to get second in the 500 free with a 4:53.24.

Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association

Male Swimmer of the Week: Gregor Sporlein, UMBC
Sporlein won three events in the Retrievers’ win against Rider (158-125). He won the 200 free (1:40.66), the 50 free (21.10) and the 100 free (46.09). His 400 free relay team also clocked the fastest time of the event in an exhibition race (3:09.12). In the 50 free, the sophomore won by 0.54 seconds over teammate Bryan Mattingly.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Kendall Hough, Liberty
Hough recorded three first-place finishes last weekend as she won both the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle, and swam leadoff on Liberty’s victorious 200 medley relay as the Lady Flames defeated both Oregon State and Seattle. She also anchored for Liberty’s 400 free relay, which swam the fastest time among all teams at the meet as an exhibition (3:29.46). Hough led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 100 backstroke, clocking 56.34. She later swam 51.02 for first place in the 100 free, leading another 1-2-3 sweep for the Lady Flames. All of her times this weekend were the fastest by a Lady Flame in those events so far this season.

Male Diver of the Week: Ryan Green, UMBC
Green took home a win on the boards in the 1 meter dive. He scored 276.15 for the Retrievers, which was nearly 15 points ahead of second place. He also competed in the men’s 3 meter as an exhibition event and earned a score of 287.55.

Colonial Athletic Association

Male Swimmer of the Week: Valtteri Halonen, North Carolina-Wilmington
Halonen helped the Seahawks down former league member Old Dominion over the weekend, capturing first-place individual honors in the 100 back (51.20) as well as the 200 back (1:50.81), while swimming a leg on both winning relay teams in the 200 medley (1:33.28) and 400 free (3:06.37).

Female Swimmer of the Week: Charlotte Holz, Towson
Holz shined for Towson in a dual-meet victory over Georgetown and William & Mary. The junior won three individual events, including the 200 free (1:51.46), 200 back (2:04.35) and 200 IM (2:06.40). She even swam a leg on TU’s second-place 400 free relay team with a split of 52.51.

Male Diver of the Week: Nathan Lane, North Carolina-Wilmington
Lane impressed on the board, winning first place on both the 1-meter (258.95) and the 3-meter (277.00) dives.

Female Diver of the Week: Molly Arceri, Towson
Arceri fared well on the boards, registering personal bests in the 1 and 3-meter dive. She scored a first-place showing in the 1-meter (304.03) and placed second on the 3-meter (281.85). Those scores were good enough to qualify her for the NCAA Zone Championships for the second consecutive season.

Conference USA

Female Swimmer of the Week: Clair Conlon, Western Kentucky
Conlon tabbed three first-place finishes, including two individual top times, to help the Lady Toppers open the season with a dominant 210-83 win over Delta State. The senior holds the fastest time in the league in the 100 breaststroke after going 1:03.76, almost three seconds faster than the next best time in C-USA. She also finished the 200 breaststroke in 2:20.58, another top time in C-USA. Conlon swam the second leg of the 200 medley relay in 29.45 to help WKU secure a win in the event at a C-USA-best time of 1:44.96. The C-USA Swimmer of the Week award is the first of Conlon’s career.

Female Diver of the Week: Rebecca Quesnel, Florida International
Quesnel grabbed two first-place finishes with league-best scores in the one-meter and three-meter diving at the FIU meet with Florida Atlantic. In the one-meter diving, Quesnel earned a score of 276.83, the fourth-best time for a diver in school history, in her first collegiate event. The freshman followed that up with a mark of 275.78 in the three-meter diving to qualify for the Zone Championships later this season.

Mid-American Conference

Male Swimmer of the Week: Till Pallmann, Southern Illinois
Pallmann added three more individual wins and another relay team win to his resume against Missouri State. Pallmann was once again one of the Salukis top swimmers. In the 200-yard Freestyle, Pallman bested the field with a time of 1:39.22. In the 100-yard Freestyle, he took first after finishing the event in 45.78. Pallmann took first place in the 50-yard Freestyle with a time of 20.76. In the 200-yard Freestyle Relay, Pallmann was an important part that saw SIU win the event in a time of 1:24.78.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Lauren Comer, Toledo
Comer won two of the three individual events she competed in on Saturday at a dual meet vs. Duquesne. In her first event of the day, Comer placed first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:54.86. In the 500-yard freestyle, she finished nearly three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher with a time of 5:09.55 for her second win of the day. In Comer’s final event of the day, she recorded a runner-up finish in the 200-yard individual medley, and was less than a second behind the winner.

Missouri Valley Conference

Female Swimmers of the Week: Danielle Freeman, Evansville; Lauren Pavel, Missouri State
Through two meets this season, UE sophomore Danielle Freeman is undefeated against solid competition out of the gate. The Aces opened up the season last weekend at the Butler Quad Meet, facing Saint Louis, Butler, Valparaiso, Xavier and Western Illinois. She earned wins in the 50 Freestyle (23.96) and 100 Freestyle (52.71). She also teamed up to lead the Aces to a win in the 200 Medley Relay with a 1:48.93. Against SIU, she was victorious in three more races. Leading off for UE in the 400 Free Relay, she helped the Aces win with a time of 3:33.52. In the 50 and 100 Freestyle, she won once again, recording times of 24.18 in the 50 and 52.53 in the 100. Both currently rank as the top times in the MVC.

Missouri State sophomore Lauren Pavel won four individual events over the weekend to lead the Bears in duals against Evansville and Southern Illinois. In the dual against Evansvile, Pavel won the 200 IM (2:12.16), the 100 breaststroke (1:06.54) and also was the second leg of the 400 medley relay team that finished first, giving her top honors in all three races she competed in. On Saturday at Southern Illinois, Pavel again won two individual events by taking first in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.08) and in the 200 breaststroke (2:26.22), while also placing fourth in the 200 IM in a time of 2:12.61. Her current 100 breaststroke and 200 IM times rank her first in the MVC at this point in the 2014-15 season.

Female Diver of the Week: Sherry Zhang, Southern Illinois
Zhang was an important part in the win against the University of Evansville. In the 1-Meter Dive, Zhang scored 332.55 to easily take first in the event. Her score in the one-meter was nearly 25 points higher than the second place finisher. The 3-Meter dive saw the same dominating performance from Zhang. Her final score of 337.57 gave her the crown in the event.

Mountain West Conference

Female Swimmer of the Week: Sam Wicks, Boise State
Wicks was busy last week, winning six individual events in the two dual meets against Utah and Idaho. Against Utah, she won the 100 back (55.87), 100 free (51.42) and 200 IM (2:04.69). In the meet against Idaho, she took the 100 back (55.46), 200 IM (2:04.49) and 50 free (23.54).

Female Diver of the Week: Cari Reiswig, San Jose State
The freshman impressed in her first competition, winning the 1-meter competition with a score of 291.65 and was second on the 3-meter springboard with 291.65 points.

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference

Male Swimmer of the Week: Ben Spencer, Clarion
Spencer won four individual events to lead the Clarion to a 170-139 win on Saturday over Grove City. Spencer won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:07.48 and clinched a PSAC cut in the 400 individual medley with a 4:37.29 time. He also won the 100 backstroke (55.79) and the 200 backstroke (2:04.85) while earning PSAC cut times in each.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Tess Haywood, West Chester
Haywood led the Golden Rams to a season-opening tri-meet victory with three individual first place times along with two relay victories. She notched PSAC cut times in the 50 freestyle (25.12), 100 freestyle (53.91) and 200 freestyle (1:57.27). She also helped her 200 free relay team to a first place finish with a time of 1:41.79 and swam the anchor leg on her 800 free relay team that set a pool record with a time of 8:00.00.

Southeastern Conference

Male Swimmer of the Week: Sean Lehane, Tennessee

Lehane was a part of the winning 200 yard medley relay team and also won the 100 yard butterfly with a career-high time of 50.88 in Tennessee’s season-opening meet at UNC Wilmington. At Queens (N.C.), he won the 200 yard freestyle (1:39.97) and the 200 yard backstroke (1:44.89) and swam the first leg in the winning 200 yard medley relay squad. Lehane then had a hand in three victories at North Carolina, finishing in first place in both the 100 yard backstroke (48.23) and the 200 yard backstroke (1:44.37) while being a part of the winning 200 yard medley relay team. He was also a part of the 200 yard freestyle relay that finished second.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Jessica Thielmann, Florida

Thielmann notched two victories in UF’s season opening meet against Arkansas as she won the 400 yard IM (4:21.22) and was a member of the Gators’ first-place 400 yard freestyle relay team. At the Pinch A Penny All Florida Invite, she won the 500 yard freestyle (4:47.82) and recorded the nation’s current top time in the 1650 yard freestyle (16:27.06). Thielmann then picked up three more wins in UF’s meet vs. LSU. She took the top spot and posted a nationally-best time in the 500 yard freestyle (4:49.02), while finishing first in the 1000 yard freestyle, second in the 200 yard freestyle and was part of the winning 400 yard freestyle relay team.

Male Diver of the Week: Mauricio Robles, Tennessee
In the first meet of the season at UNC Wilmington, Robles won the one-meter springboard with a total of 327 points, and earned the highest mark in the exhibitioned 3-meter springboard competition. He then followed that up with a first-place finish in the three-meter springboard at North Carolina with a final score of 412.65 points, just 5.45 points shy of his career-high mark which he set at the 2014 SEC Championships. Robles closed out the meet with a second-place finish in the one-meter springboard with 354.23 points.

Female Diver of the Week: Kahlia Warner, Florida
Warner won both boards in UF’s season-opening dual meet against Arkansas as she posted scores of 290.55 in the one-meter and 336.38 in the three-meter. She captured victories again on both boards at the Pinch A Penny All Florida Invitational, and scored a career-high 317.93 points on the one-meter. Warner then took first place in the one-meter in UF’s meet against LSU with 289.05 points while finishing second in the three-meter with 288.45 points.

Male Freshman of the Week: Caeleb Dressel, Florida

Dressel made his UF debut at the Pinch A Penny All Florida Invitational, where he was a member of all five of UF’s winning relay teams and earned an individual win in the 100 yard butterfly (47.74). He then took the top spot and achieved an NCAA B standard time in the 50 yard freestyle (19.94) against LSU. In the Gators’ win over the Tigers, Dressel also finished first in the 100 yard butterfly and was part of the 200 medley relay team that finished second.

Female Freshman of the Week: Kylie Stewart, Georgia

Stewart made her collegiate debut in Georgia’s opening win over Vanderbilt with a first-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle (1:49.90). She then swept the backstroke races in Georgia’s win over Alabama as she went 53.75 in the 100 and 1:57.27 in the 200. Stewart is currently ranked second nationally in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 200 backstroke, and her time in the 100 back matches the 10th-fastest time in school history.

Summit League

Male Swimmer of the Week: Alex McLain, South Dakota State
McLain earns his first career Swimmer of the Week honor after recording a pair of top-two finishes against North Dakota. The Pierre, S.D., native won the 100 back in 52:89 and finished runner-up in the 200 back in 1:57.23. His leads the league in the 200 back and ranks fourth in the 100 back. The senior also helped the Jackrabbits take second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:34.45.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Sam Schutt, North Dakota
Schutt claims her second career Swimmer of the Week award after posting a trio of first-place finishes to help South Dakota defeat Minnesota State. The sophomore won the 100-meter free (59.60), 200-meter free (2:08.12) and 400-meter free (4:36.52). Her 200-yard free time of 1:55.42 ranks second in the league, while her 100-yard free time of 53.60 is fifth.

Male Diver of the Week: Cody Watts, IUPUI
Watts collects his second career Diver of the Week award after winning the one-meter dive at the Jaguars’ season opener. The junior posted a league-best and NCAA Zone qualifying score of 335.25, the second-best one-meter score in program history.

Female Diver of the Week: Greyson Hertting, South Dakota
Hertting garners her 11th career Diver of the Week honor after sweeping both diving events en route to South Dakota’s victory over Minnesota State. The Appleton, Wis., native won the three-meter dive with a score of 258.05 and the one-meter with a score of 264.60, 0.4 points shy of an NCAA Zone qualifying score. She leads the league in the three-meter dive and ranks second in the one-meter.

Some information in this article was taken from press releases.