NC State’s Simonas Bilis, the kingpin of the team’s big win over Georgia last weekend, has been named ACC Male Swimmer of the Week for his efforts. Louisville’s Tanja Kylliainen earns the female honor after winning twice at the ultra-competitive SMU Classic.
Bilis won three events to vault the Wolfpack past Georgia, the 5th-best team in the NCAA last season. He cracked some major barriers in both sprint free races, going 19.96 in the 50 and 43.74 in the 100. Bilis also added a 1:37.02 win in the 200 free to really hit Georgia’s soft spots in the shorter free races. That freestyle advantage led to the ‘Pack’s upset win at home.
Kylliainen was named the swimmer of the meet at the Southern Methodist’s format-meet invite, the SMU Classic. With 6 of the best teams in the country in attendance, Kylliainen won twice and added a second-place finish. Her wins came in the 200 and 400 IMs, and in the longer of the two races, Kylliainen claimed the fastest time in the nation for the 2014-2015 season with a 4:10.89. She’s third in the 200 fly (1:57.34) and 4th in the 200 IM (1:59.48). Those latter two events came back-to-back on Saturday night, with Kylliainen winning the IM, the second half of the tough double.
The men’s Diver of the Week award went to UNC Tar Heel sophomore Jack Nyquist for the second-straight week. Nyquist won twice against Georgia in UNC’s dual against the Bulldogs, one night before the NC State-Georgia matchup. Over the past two weeks, Nyquist is 3-for-4 in wins against tough SEC opponents, losing only one diving event against Tennessee last week, and that only by a point.
Female Diver of the Week goes to Georgia Tech’s Shannon Lumbra, who put up four NCAA Zone-qualifying performances over two days. She first qualified for Zones on Friday with a pair of runner-up finishes in the triangular with Notre Dame and South Carolina. She broke through with two wins on Saturday as Georgia Tech hosted a second tri meet against Georgia Southern and Pitt.
