College Conferences Kick Off 2014 With Aquatic Athlete Weekly Honors

PHOENIX, Arizona, January 7. THOUGH we are just about a week into the second half of the college swimming and diving season, a few conference offices couldn’t wait to return to bestowing weekly honors on athletes who performed well recently.

American Athletic Conference
Female Athlete of the Week: Kelsi Worrell, Louisville
A month after winning the USA Swimming national title in the 200-yard butterfly, Worrell showed off her sprinting abilities in Friday’s dual meet against Georgia Tech. Worrell won the 100 fly in 54.43 and posted a 23.15 for the victory in the 50 free.

Male Athlete of the Week: Devin Burnett, Southern Methodist
Burnett’s performances at the Georgia Diving Invite were the most impressive of the week, as the junior won both springboard events and was third in the platform diving competition. It’s the first time he’s swept the springboard events in a meet since November.

Atlantic 10
Male Swimmer of the Week: William Clendenin, George Mason
Clendenin garnered a third-place finish in the 200 IM (short course meters) against a strong Michigan team last week at the Orange Bowl Classic, as well as eighth in the 400 free.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Meghan Smith, Duquesne
The FIU Sprint Invitational produced two wins for Smith, including the 100 breast (1:06.16) and 100 IM (59.92). She was also second in the 200 fly.

Male Rookie of the Week: Zepher Begnell, George Mason
In addition to helping out on relay duty, Begnell tied for seventh in the 50 free at the Orange Bowl Classic.

Female Rookie of the Week: Steff Maurer, George Mason
Four was a magic number for Maurer, as she was on both relays that finished fourth at the Orange Bowl Classic, and registered a fourth-place finish in the 100 free.

Atlantic Coast
Male Swimmer of the Week: Jonathan Boffa, NC State
In the dual meet against Georgia, Boffa took first in the 100 and 200 freestyles and was a key component in the winning 200 medley relay and 200 free relay.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Kaitlyn Dressel, Florida State
Though the Seminoles lost the dual meet against Florida by four points, Dressel had major contributions by winning both sprint freestyles and being a part of the winning 200 free relay. It was also the first time this season Dressel could celebrate a sprint free sweep.

Male Diver of the Week: Tom Neubacher, Florida State
The senior continued to impress on the springboard, easily winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter events against Florida.

Female Diver of the Week: Kelsey Goodman, Florida State
Goodman won the 1-meter springboard event with 292.50 points at the Florida dual meet, then placed second behind teammate Ariel Rittenhouse on the 3-meter springboard.

Big 10
Male Swimmer of the Week: Bruno Ortiz, Michigan
In addition to contributing to wins in the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay, Ortiz won the 50 breast and 50 free in short course meters competition at the Orange Bowl Classic.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Ali DeLoof, Michigan
DeLoof broke the meet record in the 50 short course meters backstroke at the Orange Bowl Classic, leading off the winning 200 medley relay with a 28.36. She also won the 50 back individual event with a 28.69 and the 50 free in 26.60.

Male Diver of the Week: Layne Rogers, Purdue
Rogers qualified for the NCAA zone championships last weekend when he won the 1-meter springboard competition in the dual meet against Hawaii with 359.35 points.

Female Diver of the Week: Casey Matthews, Purdue
Matthews got a spot in the NCAA zone championships with a win in the 1-meter event with a score of 321.20 points in the dual meet against Hawaii.

Male Freshman of the Week: Austin Flager, Purdue
Flager won his first individual event of the season, taking the 50 free with a 20.72 and helped the Boilermakers win the 200 medley relay and finish second in the 400 medley relay.

Female Freshman of the Week: Meagan Lim, Purdue
Lim’s victory in the 200 IM in the dual meet against Hawaii, as well as a part in the winning 200 medley relay and a fourth-place finish in the 200 fly, was good enough to earn the weekly honor for Lim.

Conference USA
Female Swimmer of the Week: Jennifer Alfani, Florida International
The French freshman took two events at the FIU Sprint Invite, winning the 50 fly in 26.07 and the 200 free relay with a 1:37.65. She was also second in the 200 medley relay and third in the 100 IM.

Female Diver of the Week: Sabrina Beaupre, Florida International
Beaupre continues to lead the FIU diving squad, winning both springboard diving events at the FIU Invite.

Southeastern Conference
Male Swimmer of the Week: Carlos Omana, Florida
Omana swam the two toughest events on the schedule in the dual meet against Florida State, and won them both. He posted a 9:08.26 in the 1000 free and 3:54.69 in the 400 IM.

Female Swimmer of the Week: Hilda Luthersdottir, Florida
The senior continued her streak of impressive dual-meet performances, adding another sweep of the breaststroke events to her accomplishments. She also was a part of the winning 400 medley relay.

Male Diver of the Week: Clark Thomas, Missouri
Thomas posted a career-best score of 365.65 to win the 3-meter event at the Georgia Invite, then notched another lifetime best score of 386.75 in the 1-meter, where he was fifth.

Female Diver of the Week: Laura Ryan, Georgia
Ryan was a key player for Georgia’s diving squad last week, winning the 1-meter event at the Georgia Invite and finishing second in the 3-meter competition. She also helped Georgia in their victory over NC State, winning 1-meter event there as well.

Male Freshman of the Week: Mitch D’Arrigo, Florida
Not resting on his laurels after reaching the podium at the European short course championships, D’Arrigo won the 200 and 500 freestyles last weekend against Florida State.

Female Freshman of the Week: Rachel Zilinskas, Georgia
Zilinskas won the 500 free with a 4:50.80 in the dual meet against NC State and showed some versatility with a fourth-place showing in the 100 back.

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