The SEC announced its weekly swimming and diving awards. Here are the honorees:
SEC Men’s Swimmer of the Week: Josh Liendo, Florida
Florida’s Josh Liendo, a senior from Scarborough, Canada, amassed a meet-high 60 points to help the Gators sweep the Georgia Fall Invitational. Recording NCAA qualifying times to win all his individual events, Liendo captured first place in the100 fly in 43.42, the 50 free at18.40 and the 100 free in 41.11, all ranking within the top three times in the nation. He also helped secure first-place finishes in both the 200 free relay (1:15.19) and the 400 free relay (2:47.04) with an 18.04 split and an 40.02 anchor split, respectively. Liendo opened the 800-yard free relay with a NCAA qualifying time of 1:33.40, as the squad placed second in 6:12.51.
SEC Men’s Diver of the Week: Bennett Greene, Tennessee
Tennessee’s Bennett Greene, a sophomore from Knoxville, captured first place in all three events at the UT Diving Invite. Greene set a personal best of 427.65 to win the 3-meter springboard, the ninth-best score in program history. He posted another personal best mark of 410.25 to win the 1-meter springboard and tallied a final score of 378.80 to take the top spot on platform.
SEC Men’s Co-Freshmen of the Week: Ivan Tarasov, Auburn and Campbell McKean, Texas
Auburn’s Ivan Tarasov, a freshman from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski, Russia, collected three podium finishes to help the Tigers to a second-place finish at the NC State Invite. Tarasov won the 100 back with an NCAA cut time of 45.33 and placed fourth in the 200 back with a time of 1:43.06. He also swam the leadoff leg of the winning 200 medley relay (1:22.72/21.05) and the second-place 400 medley relay (3:03.70), where his 45.27 split moved him to fourth place in Auburn’s all-time performer list.
Texas’ Campbell McKean, a freshman from Bend, Ore., recorded three NCAA qualifying times during the Texas Invitational. McKean recorded the second fastest time in the nation to finish second in the 100 breaststroke (50.37) and the sixth fastest time in the nation to place fourth in the 200 breaststroke (1:51.82). He also took third place in the 200 IM with a time of 1:41.06, good for fourth place on the nation’s charts this season. McKean swam the second leg of the 200 medley relay which took second place (1:23.81/22.51).
SEC Women’s Swimmer of the Week: Jillian Cox, Texas
Texas’ Jillian Cox, a sophomore from Austin, Texas, claimed two first-place finishes at the Texas Invitational by recording the fastest time in the nation in both events. Cox touched the wall first in the 500 free with a time of 4:32.92 and in the 1650 free with a time of 15:41.70. She rounded out the invite with a 15th-place finish in the 200 free with a time of 1:47.33.
SEC Women’s Diver of the Week: Sophie Verzyl, South Carolina
South Carolina’s Sophie Verzyl, a senior from Columbia, S.C., swept both springboard events at the UT Diving Invite. Verzyl captured the gold in the 1-meter springboard with a final score of 375.15, setting the school record and the Allen Jones Aquatic Center pool record. She also tallied the top score on the 3-meter with a 396.60.
SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week: Kennedi Dobson, Georgia
Georgia’s Kennedi Dobson, a freshman from Levittown, Pa., took the top spot in three events during the Georgia Fall Invitational. Competing in the 1650 free for the first time at the collegiate level, Dobson registered an NCAA cut time of 15:47.61, the second fastest time in the nation this season and the fifth fastest in program history. She also recorded the fourth fastest time in program history to win the 200 free at 1:42.19, the ninth-best time on the nation’s charts. Dobson anchored the Bulldogs’ 800 free relay with an NCAA qualifying split time of 1:41.91 to help the squad to a winning time of 6:53.55.
— 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.
