The SEC announced its weekly award winners for swimming and diving.
SEC Men’s Swimmer of the Week: Lyubomir Epitropov, Tennessee
Tennessee’s Lyubomir Epitropov, a senior from Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria, posted a pair of podium finishes to help pace the Vols to a tri-meet sweep against Duke and Queens University. Epitropov dominated the field in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:00.55, winning by more than two and a half seconds. He also placed second in the 100 breast (54.89) as the Vols took the top two spots in the race.
SEC Men’s Co-Divers of the Week: Juan Celaya-Hernandez, LSU and Bryden Hattie, Tennessee
LSU’s Juan Celaya-Hernandez, a junior from Edmonton, Alberta, swept the springboard events at the Auburn Diving Invitational, finishing in first place on the one meter with a score of 382.75 and three meter with a score of 430.80. On platform, he finished in second place with a final score of 374.50.
Tennessee’s Bryden Hattie, a sophomore from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, won a combined three events between the Auburn Diving Invitational and the Tennessee Diving Invitational. Hattie swept the platform event at both events, posting scores of 419.50 and 388.40, respectively. On the 3-meter, he placed first at the UT Invite (404.90) and finished second (410.15) at the Auburn Diving Invite. Hattie finished as the top points scorer (53.00) during UT’s meet and was the second-highest scorer (51.00) during Auburn’s invite.
SEC Men’s Freshman of the Week: Jordan Crooks, Tennessee
Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks, a freshman from George Town, Cayman Islands, posted four podium finishes to help the Volunteers sweep Duke and Queens University during a tri-meet to start the new year. Crooks won the 100 freestyle with a mark of 43.66, and later took second in the 50 free with a time of 19.94. In the relays, he helped the Vols to a pair of second-place finishes in the 200 free relay (1:19.93/19.73) and the 200 medley relay (1:27.94/22.30).
SEC Women’s Swimmer of the Week: Anna-Julia Kutsch, Tennessee
Tennessee’s Anna-Julia Kutsch, a junior from Birmingham, Ala., won two individual races and helped two relay lineups to victories in a tri-meet against Duke and Queens University. Kutsch registered a 22.27 split on the 50 freestyle leg of the 200 medley relay. Tennessee trailed going into the final leg of the race, but Kutsch’s time pushed the Lady Vols into the top spot. In the individual races, she junior claimed the top spots in the 50 free (22.64) and 100 free (50.32), marking her first individual wins as a Lady Vol. Kutsch picked up her fourth victory on the day when UT capped the meet with a 1:31.60 time in the 200 free relay as she recorded the lineup’s fastest split at 22.26.
SEC Women’s Diver of the Week: Brooke Schultz, South Carolina
South Carolina’s Brooke Schultz, a graduate student from Fayetteville, Ark., swept the springboard events at the Tennessee Diving Invitational in her first meet as a Gamecock. Schultz posted final scores of 328.35 on the 1-meter and 355.00 on the 3-meter. She also joined teammates Sophie Verzyl and Abby Gray to win the team dive event with a score of 324.25.
SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week: Josephine Fuller, Tennessee
Tennessee’s Josephine Fuller, a freshman from Richmond, Va., accounted for three wins and a third-place finish to help the Lady Vols sweep Duke and Queens University in a tri-meet. Fuller opened the meet by leading off the 200 medley relay with a 25.50 split in the backstroke leg and helping UT post the fastest time at 1:39.46. She then swept the backstroke events, touching the wall in 53.99 in the 100 and 1:57.71 in the 200. The performances marked the first time she has swept the events this year. Fuller posted a 50 free split of 23.20 as she anchored UT’s C team in the 200 free relay, which finished third with a time of 1:33.53.
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with the SEC. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.
