Courtesy: SEC Athletics
Men’s Swimmer of the Week: Taylor Abbott, Tennessee
Tennessee’s Taylor Abbott, a senior from Cedar Park, Texas, swam five events over the weekend, winning three against Purdue and taking home two more victories versus Georgia Tech. Abbott swam the 1650 against Georgia Tech, setting an NCAA B-cut time with his 15:01.36 performance, which ranks fifth nationally. The extracted 1000 freestyle from that swim was 9:04.95, the eighth-quickest 1000 free this season. He also took first place in the 200 fly (1:50.70) and twice in the 500 free (4:26.32; 4:29.55).
Men’s Diver of the Week: Victor Povzner, Texas A&M
Texas A&M’s Victor Povzner, a freshman from Toronto, Ontario, won the 3-meter springboard in the double dual meet against Duke at Harvard with a final score of 404.90. Povzner placed second in the 1-meter with a career-high score of 364.35.
Men’s Freshman of the Week: Eric Friese, Florida
Florida’s Eric Friese, a freshman from Potsdam, Germany, scored 12 points in Florida’s dual win over No. 15 Florida State. Friese touched the wall first in the 100 fly (48.37) and was a part of the winning 400 medley relay (3:14.47/47.93). He finished third in the 50 free with a personal-best time of 20.61.
Women’s Swimmer of the Week: Sarah Thompson, Missouri
Missouri’s Sarah Thompson, a junior from Collierville, Tenn., won an individual event and swam on four winning relays in Mizzou’s wins over North Carolina State, Kentucky and Arkansas last week. Thompson swam on the Tigers’ winning 200 free, 400 free, 200 medley and 400 medley relays in the quad meet, including as the leadoff leg of Mizzou’s 200 free relay that notched the fastest time in the nation with a 1:29.09. She claimed individual first-place honors in the 50 free with a 22.22 for her team-leading fifth event win of the year. Thompson also swam a personal-best 1:54.57 in the 200 back, which ranks her fifth nationally and eighth all-time at Mizzou, as well as season bests in the 100 back (53.57 as a leadoff split) and 100 fly (54.44).
Women’s Diver of the Week: Kyndal Knight, Kentucky
Kentucky’s Kyndal Knight, a sophomore from Stanley, N.C., won both springboard events in the quad meet against N.C. State, Missouri and Arkansas. Knight defeated a 13-person field on 3-meter with a score of 325.75 points, her third-best mark of the season. She also defeated a 14-person field on 1-meter with a score of 284.30, her second-best mark of the season on the discipline.
Women’s Freshman of the Week: Talia Bates, Florida
Florida’s Talia Bates, a freshman from Gainesville, Fla., scored 18 points in the dual meet win over Florida State. Bates took first in the 50 free (22.88) and 100 free (50.09) and led off the winning 200 free relay (1:30.82/23.06). In the 400 medley relay, she hit a split of 54.09, the second-fastest split on her relay.
