ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its men's and women's swimming and diving weekly honors on Wednesday.
Men's Swimmer of the Week: Willem Huggins, Sophomore, Southern Illinois (Carbondale, Illinois)
Southern Illinois’ Willem Huggins broke three pool records in a dual meet win over Eastern Illinois, while earning a pair of top-three individual performances in a dual meet against Missouri. Huggins clocked a winning time of 45.10 in the 100-yard freestyle against the Panthers to break the previous pool record. Additionally, he helped the 200-freestyle relay (1:22.03) and 400-medley relay (3:18.58) etch their names at the facility with record-breaking performances. He also earned an individual win in the 200-yard freestyle (1:41.86). At Mizzou, he won the 100-yard backstroke event in a time of 47.83 while earning third place in the 200-yard backstroke (1:46.50).
Men's Diver of the Week: Carson Harrington, Freshman, UMass (Evergreen, Colorado)
As the Minutemen defeated Fordham, 163-137, on Saturday, Carson Harrington earned two silver medals. In the one-meter dive, Harrington had a total of 317.78, while scoring a 358.50 in the three-meter dive. His score in the one-meter event marked a personal and season best for the rookie, while his three-meter score was the second-highest recorded by Harrington this season.
Men's Freshman of the Week: Zach Mendez, Freshman, Missouri State (Lansing, Kansas)
Missouri State’s Zach Mendez not only set a personal best in the 1650-yard freestyle this past weekend, but he also notched a Conference-leading time of 15:18.98 in the event. His victory in the event helped the Bears’ efforts to capture a dual meet win over UIC. His time leads The Valley by nearly three seconds, and is the best time recorded since the turn of the calendar year.
Women's Swimmer of the Week: Olivia Elgin, Junior, Little Rock (New Franklin, Ohio)
Olivia Elgin captured the 500-yard freestyle title in 4:52.71, setting both a Little Rock school record and a pool record. She added another individual victory in the 200-yard freestyle, touching first in 1:47.89 to establish a new pool record. Her impact extended to the relays, beginning with a personal-best 23.38 leadoff split in the 200-yard freestyle relay to help secure the event win. Elgin also delivered a crucial 24.75 butterfly split in the 200-yard medley relay, contributing to another first-place finish. She closed the meet by leading off the 400-yard freestyle relay in 49.95, helping the Trojans set a new pool record in the event.
Women's Diver of the Week: Jecza Lopez, Junior, Indiana State (Guadalajara, Mexico)
Jecza Lopez continued her dominance on the diving boards this past weekend in Muncie, Ind. as the junior surpassed the 300-point mark in claiming both the 1M Springboard and 3M Springboard diving competitions. Lopez scored 303.08 in the 1M Springboard on her way to winning the event by 70.5 points over the competition in which the Sycamores claimed four of the top five spots in the standings. She followed up by scoring 301.50 to claim the 3M Springboard title in winning by nearly 68 points as Indiana State put five divers in the top six spots.
Women's Freshman of the Week:
Grace Cummings, Freshman, Indiana State (Kent, England)
Grace Cummings continues to add to a stellar freshman campaign as the Kent, England native set a new standard in the 1000-yard Freestyle this past Friday night in the dual meet against Ball State. Cummings took down the Lewellen Aquatic Center facility record without the need of a performance suit as the freshman went out in 10:06.98 to break the previous mark set by Notre Dame’s Shelley Hotchkiss (10:11.55) set back in 1994. Cummings won the event by nearly 17 seconds in her first win of the day. She followed up by claiming the 500-yard Freestyle win in 5:04.44 to win the event by three seconds to complete the distance sweep.