Siobhan Haughey Earns Big Ten Medal of Honor

The University of Michigan Athletic Department presented the Big Ten Medal of Honor to its 2018-19 recipients at its annual Student-Athlete Recognition Celebration on Monday evening, with seniors Siobhán Haughey (women’s swimming and diving) and Robbie Mertz (men’s soccer) receiving the honor based on their proficiency in scholarship and athletics.

The Big Ten Medal of Honor is awarded to one male and one female student from the graduating class of each member institution who has demonstrated excellence on and off the field throughout their college career.

The highest honor that a student competing in conference athletics can achieve in the Big Ten, the award was established in 1915 and was the first award in intercollegiate athletics to demonstrate support for the educational emphasis placed on athletics.

During the past century, the Big Ten Medal of Honor has been awarded to more than 1,300 honorees. These individuals have translated their campus experience into success in all walks of life.

Haughey, a native of Hong Kong, is the department’s female recipient. She is the third student-athlete from the women’s swimming and diving program to earn the honor, joining Mindy Gehrs (1993) and Kim Johnson (1998).

Haughey played a huge part in the women’s swimming and diving program’s resurgence over the last few years, helping the Wolverines win three consecutive Big Ten titles from 2016-18 and record back-to-back top-four finishes at the NCAA Championships in 2018-19.

During her four-year career, Haughey was a 14-time CSCAA All-American, 11-time CSCAA All-America Honorable Mention and 15-time Big Ten champion, establishing herself among the program’s all-time greats.

She was national runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle as a junior, and currently holds the seventh-fastest time in history in that event (1:40.69).

She holds 10 school records (six individual, four on relays), including the short course (yards) and long course (meters) records in the 100 Freestyle, 200 Freestyle and 200 Individual Medley.

Haughey represents Hong Kong internationally, reaching the semifinals of the 200-meter freestyle at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and finaling in the same event at the 2017 World Championships. Just yesterday in Hong Kong, she qualified for both the 2019 World Championships and 2020 Olympics.

Academically, Haughey was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and will soon be a three-time CSCAA Scholar All-American. She was also a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2018.

Outside of her busy training schedule, she volunteers in a conceptual development lab, serves as a health ambassador for Project Healthy Schools and is a mentor in the Michigan Mentorship Program. Haughey will graduate with a degree in psychology and plans train in Ann Arbor through the 2020 Olympics.

— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with the University of Michigan. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

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