CARTHAGE, Wisconsin, January 29. THE CollegeSwimming.com National Swimmers of the Week were announced today, and California’s Ryan Murphy is definitely the headliner with an impressive weekend against the Arizona Pac 12 schools.
Special thanks to CollegeSwimming.com for providing the following information on this week’s winners!
Division I Women
Jenni Roberts a Senior for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, is the Philip Hunsaker CollegeSwimming.com Women’s Division I Swimmer of the Week. The Springvale, Maine native was part of two pool records – one individual, one relay – as the Senior competed for the last time at Swasey Pool on Jan. 24 against Yale University. She opened the meet as part of the winning 400-yard medley relay – with Jenna Bull, Katie Mann and Allison Morales- in 3 minutes, 50.30 seconds which set a pool record. Jenni then topped her own Swasey Pool record in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:50.75, but she was edged at the wall by three milliseconds to finish in second place. She led a 1-2-3 sweep of the 200 IM with a pool record 2:03.37.
Division I Men
Ryan Murphy, a California Golden Bear Freshman (Ponte Vedre, Fla), had an impressive weekend of action in two dual meets against Pac-12 foes Arizona State University and the University of Arizona this past weekend. Against ASU, Murphy placed first in the 100 free (44.27) and 200 free (1:37.51), while contributing a split of 19.82 to the winning 200 free relay. Against the 5th ranked Wildcats Murphy won the 100 (46.85) and 200 back (1:41.88), lead off the winning 200 medley in a 21.80, and lead off the winning 400 free relay in a blazing 43.92. His impressive performances have earned him the Philip Hunsaker CollegeSwimming.com Men’s Division I Swimmer of the Week.
Division II Women
Junior Kristina Novichenko (Seversk, Russia) is the Philip Hunsaker CollegeSwimming.com Women’s Division II Swimmer of the Week. In dual meet action against Division I for Easter Michigan, Novichenko won three individual events. She swam a “B” cut qualifying time of 10:11.89 to win the 1000 freestyle by more than 23 seconds. Novichenko also topped the “A” cut mark in the 200 butterfly, breaking the two-minute mark and winning with a time of 1:59.67 which was good enough for the fastest time in Division II this year and a Wayne State University Varsity record. Her third victory came in the 100 butterfly, winning by more than a second in 55.80.
Division II Men
Matt Josa, a Queens University of Charlotte Freshman and Division II record holder had an impressive performance against the University of South Carolina. Josa won the 200 IM in 1:50.19, the 100 back and 100 fly in a time of 48.19, while splitting a 22.4 lead off leg in the 200 medley and a 47.2 fly leg in the 400 medley relay. His outstanding efforts against a Division I foe have earned him the Philip Hunsaker CollegeSwimming.com Men’s Division II Swimmer of the Week.
Division III Women
Emory Sophomore Ellie Thompson (Enfield, NH), is the Philip Hunsaker CollegeSwimming.com Women’s Division III Swimmer of the Week. Thompson posted impressive times in the 100 and 200 backstroke (57.57, 2:04.24) against Division I foe Alabama. Most impressive was her lead off leg of the 400 medley where she split a 55.68.
Division III Men
MIT Senior Michael Liao (Newport Beach, Calif.) was named the NEWMAC Swimmer of the Week, and the Philip Hunsaker CollegeSwimming.com Men’s Division III Swimmer of the Week. Liao racked up five victories in all. Against Williams, he won both the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke with times of 57.39 and 2:05.53 respectively. At home on Saturday, he added three more wins to that list. He was part of the 200 medley relay, and easily won the 100 breast with a 55.31 and the 200 breast in 2:00.84, breaking the Zesiger Center pool record by a few tenths of a second in the latter. His 200 breast is currently second in Division III and his 100 breast is the third fastest in the country.