Following their performances in the Backyard Brawl on Jan. 4, four members of the West Virginia swimming and diving teams swept this week’s Big 12 Swimmer and Diver of the Week awards, as announced by the conference on Wednesday.
Junior Angelo Russo was named the Men’s Swimmer of the Week, while senior Morgan Bullock collected the Women’s Swimmer of the Week honor. In diving, sophomore PJ Lenz was named the Men’s Diver of the Week, and sophomore Camille Burt earned Women’s Diver of the Week honors.
The Mountaineers swept the conference’s bi-weekly awards for the first time this season and fifth time in program history. Bullock earned the award for the fifth time in her career and second this season. Russo and Lenz earned their first recognition of the year and second of their careers.
Burt earned her first career conference accolade.
“Both Morgan and Angelo had very solid performances last weekend,” West Virginia swimming coach Vic Riggs said. “Angelo’s swims were a key part of the men’s team’s victory over Pitt. It was a great way to begin the championship portion of our season.”
“I’m very proud of PJ and Cam,” WVU diving coach Michael Grapner said. “They’ve both been applying all of their corrections during practice, and now they can be recognized for their achievements on the boards.”
Russo collected three total victories, including two individual wins, in the dual meet to help the men’s team defeat Pitt, 179.5-120.5. He helped the men’s 200-yard medley relay team to a victory after swimming the first leg of the relay in 22.30. The team took first place with a time of 1:28.24. The Roanoke, Virginia, native also grabbed two individual wins in the 100 backstroke (48.31) and 200 backstroke (1:48.69).
Bullock paced the women’s team with three individual wins against the Panthers. She took first place in the 100 butterfly (55.46), 200 butterfly (2:01.70) and 200 individual medley (2:06.03). A native of Zeeland, Michigan, Bullock also helped the 200 medley relay team to a second-place finish with a third-leg swim of 24.91, as the team finished with a time of 1:45.61.
Lenz earned a sweep on springboard against the Panthers, winning the men’s 1- and 3-meter diving events. The Prior Lake, Minnesota, native earned a victory on 1-meter with an NCAA Zones-qualifying and career-best score of 318.82. He also topped the leaderboard on 3-meter with a mark of 316.72.
Burt paced the women’s divers to earn her first conference honor, tallying a career high and NCAA Zones-qualifying score of 279.38 on 1-meter to finish in second place. On 3-meter, the Plymouth, Michigan, native finished in third place with a score of 274.65.
The Mountaineers return to action when they travel to the Lone Star State for a pair of dual meets. On Friday, Jan. 17, the men’s team will compete against SMU at 6 p.m. ET, in Dallas. The following day, the men’s and women’s teams will battle TCU in a Big 12 dual meet on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 11 a.m. ET, in Fort Worth.
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with West Virginia Swimming. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.
