Courtesy: Mountain West Conference
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – San Diego State sweeps the Mountain West Swim & Dive weekly honors. Meredith Smithbaker is selected as the MW Swimmer of the Week, while fellow junior Valentina Lopez Arevalo is named MW Diver of the Week, and Aztec rookie Reka Nyiradi is tabbed the MW Swim & Dive Freshman of the Week.
SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
MEREDITH SMITHBAKER, SAN DIEGO STATE
Junior, Fort Collins, Colorado / Rocky Mountain HS
- Helped the Aztecs to their 55th consecutive dual-meet victory, a 101-47 win over Pepperdine.
- Finished second in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 24.04 and swam legs on the winning 200-meter medley relay and the 200-meter freestyle relay.
- Assisted the Aztecs to a second-place showing at the Fresno State Invite, finishing ahead of Washington State, Fresno State, and San José State.
- Logged three top-five finishes, highlighted by a first-place finish in the 50-meter free with a season-fast time of 23.06.
- Posted season-bests in the 100-meter free (51.04) and 100-meter breast (1:02.40), finishing third and fifth in those events, respectively.
- Led off for the Aztecs’ second-place 200-meter free relay team and anchored the fourth-place 400-meter medley, as well as 400-meter free relay (fourth) and the 200-meter medley relay (fifth).
DIVER OF THE WEEK
VALENTINA LOPEZ AREVALO, SAN DIEGO STATE
Junior, Budapest, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico / Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Jalisco
- Came out victorious in four events and recorded two additional top-four finishes in three different meets.
- Helped the Aztecs to a second-place team finish at the Fresno State Invite, topping in league opponents, Fresno State and San José State.
- Won the 3-meter springboard for the third time this year with a season-best 312.80, an NCAA Zone qualifying score, while at the Fresno State Invitational.
- Notched two event titles in a dual-meet win over Cal Poly, winning the 1-meter springboard (283.58) and 3-meter springboard (303.45).
- In a double-dual victory over Cal Poly and Fresno State, won the 1-meter title with a season-best score of 287.10. Also finished second in the 3-meter springboard with a score of 277.88.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
REKA NYIRADI, SAN DIEGO STATE
Swimmer, Budapest, Hungary / Kolcsey Ferenc Gimnazium
- Helped the Aztecs to a 101-47 dual-meet victory over Pepperdine, the 55th consecutive dual-meet win for San Diego State.
- Won the 100-meter individual medley with a time of 59.11 and placed third in the 50-meter fly, clocking in at 26.20.
- Contributed to the Aztecs’ second-place finish at the Fresno State Invite with wins over Washington State, Fresno State and San José State.
- Ranked second among MW competitors at the Fresno State Invite with 46 points score for the Aztecs, trailing just teammate Smithbaker, who posted 50 points.
- Logged four top-six individual placements, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter fly with a time of 2:02.99.
