Jason Coombs and Kaitlyn Jones Names ACC Swimmers of the Week

Florida State senior Jason Coombs and Virginia senior Kaitlyn Jones have been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Swimmers of the Week, while Cavalier freshman Bryce Shelton and Seminole freshman Ayla Bonniwell snagged Diver of the Week honors.

Coombs is named the ACC Men’s Swimmer of the Week after helping his team place fifth in a highly competitive field at the UGA Invite which featured competition in No. 6 Cal, No. 10 Michigan, No. 13 Georgia and No. 17 Auburn. The senior finished the 100 breast with a time of 52.71 which ranks him ninth nationally. The Florida native came back in the 200 stronger than ever, touching with a time of 1:55.27which ranks 12th in the nation. In addition to his individual swims, Coombs split a 23.76 in the 50 breast leg in the 200 medley relay, which was the second-fastest in the field. The overall time of 1:25.63 is the 11th best time in the nation and a NCAA “B” cut.  He was also a part of the 200 free relay that placed seventh in 1:19.45 which is the 24th fastest time in the nation.

Jones, the ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Week, led the Cavaliers at the Georgia Fall Invitational, breaking four school records and four ACC-leading times in her four individual events. On Friday, the Newark, Del., native broke the ACC and UVA record in the 200 IM in a second-place time of 1:54.05, which ranks third in the nation this year. On Saturday, she finished second in the 400 IM after breaking the school record in 4:06.33, which ranks 10th in the NCAA this season. She also led off the 800 free relay with a 200 free lead-off split of 1:45.11, which is tied for 18th in the nation and tied for third in the conference. Jones then concluded the meet winning the 200 fly in 1:53.29 after going a school-record 1:52.93 in prelims, which ranks second in the nation. Jones was part of four relays that automatically qualified for NCAAs, including the 400 free, 800 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relays.

Virginia’s Shelton recorded third-place finishes on both springboards at the competitive Georgia Fall Invitational. His scores of 304.10 on the one-meter and 344.30 on the three-meter were NCAA zone qualifying performances. The freshman also placed sixth on platform.

Florida State’s Bonniwell, the ACC Women’s Diver of the week, led the team on all three boards at the UGA Invite. The freshman was under the zone score in both the 1-meter (272.85) and three-meter (280.50) on the weekend.