ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Valley Conference announced its weekly swimming and diving honors on Wednesday.


 
MEN’S SWIMMER: Alex Cimera, Southern Illinois | Senior | Ravenna, Ohio
Alex Cimera had an outstanding performance in both SIU’s meet at Purdue and Senior Day win over Evansville. At Purdue, the senior swam a 45.34 100-freestyle to win the event while also finishing as runner-up in the 200-freestyle. In relay events, Cimera was a part of the second-place 400-medley relay team and the third-place 200-freestyle relay. Then, against Evansville, Cimera collected four gold medals. Individually, he won the 100-backstroke, 100-freestyle, and 100-butterfly, and he was also a member of the first-place 200-freestyle relay. This is Camera’s second swimmer of the week award this season.
 
MEN’S DIVER: Levi McKinney, Evansville | Senior | Boonville, Ind.
It was a record-breaking week for Levi McKinney who posted UE program records in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. McKinney opened the week by setting the school record in the 3-meter dive against UIC. His score of 336.83 broke the previous record and qualified him for the NCAA Zones. He scored a 276.08 in the 1-meter dive to take third place. One day later, McKinney broke another school mark in the meet at Southern Illinois. With a score of 335.80 in the 1-meter dive, McKinney reset the program record while earning another score that qualified him for the NCAA Zones. On top of that, he took the victory in the 3-meter event with a score of 329.05.
 
MEN’S FRESHMAN: Eli Rolfsen, Miami | Freshman | Kalamazoo, Mich.
Eli Rolfsen earned a pair of first-place finishes while finishing in the top 10 in two other events as Miami competed against Oakland and Denison. He won the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 4:25.28, which is the fourth-fastest time in the MVC this season. Additionally, he holds two of the top four times in the league in the event. He clocked in a winning time of 9:11.94 in the 1000-yard free, which was the second-fastest time in The Valley behind his own season best performance. He also competed in the 400 IM, finishing in 3:55.25, which is the sixth-fastest time as he is the only rookie in the Top 10 in the event in the MVC. He finished his showing, clocking in a time of 1:50.99 in the 200-yard backstroke.


 
WOMEN’S SWIMMER: Susy Hernandez, Southern Illinois | Senior | Veracruz, Mexico
Susy Hernandez was excellent in SIU’s Senior Day meet versus Evansville and Indiana State. The senior nabbed first place in both the 100- and 200-freestyle while also swimming for the winning 200-medley relay team. Additionally, Hernandez and her 200-freestyle relay squad came up second in the event. This is the first time in Hernandez’s career that she has been named MVC Swimmer of the Week.
 
WOMEN’S DIVER: Jecza Lopez, Indiana State | Junior | Guadalajara, Mexico
Jecza Lopez continued her dominance on the boards this season as the junior topped the field in both the  3M and the 1M Springboard events on Saturday afternoon in Shea Natatorium. Lopez scored 282.30 in the 3M Springboard event to win by nearly 44 points over teammate Brenna Woodruff, while she added a 273.30 on the 1M Springboard to win by 55 points in leading the Sycamores to the top five scoring positions in the event.
 
WOMEN’S FRESHMAN: Grace Cummings, Indiana State | Freshman | Kent, England
Grace Cummings went undefeated this past weekend against Southern Illinois and Evansville as the freshman topped the field in both the 1000-yard Freestyle and the 500-yard Freestyle events in Shea Natatorium. Cummings went 9:52.98 in the 1000-yard Freestyle to top the field by nearly 16 full seconds, and then followed up with a 4:53.79 in the 500-yard Freestyle to top teammate Erin Cummins. Cummings’ pair of wins helped highlight eight Indiana State event wins on the day as the Sycamores recorded their first win over SIU in Carbondale in program history.