Two of the Big Ten’s top sprinters, Carly Mercer of Purdue and Ivy Martin of Wisconsin, share this week’s Big Ten Women’s Swimmer of the Week award.
Mercer has been a major force in Purdue’s 7-0 season, and kept up her fast swimming with 4 wins in Purdue’s dominating win over Michigan. She was sub-23 in the 50 free, going 22.95, and put up a 49.47 in the 100 free against the Wolverines. She followed that up the very next day with three more wins against Michigan State.
This is the fourth career Swimmer of the Week award for the senior, and her third this season.
Not to be outdone, Martin put up a great showing in a Wisconsin loss on the road to a tough USC team. Martin won the 50 free in a big showdown with Trojan star Kasey Carlson, going 22.60. She also swam a leg on the winning 400 free relay, and picked up two second place finishes in the 100 free and 200 medley relay. A junior, Martin has already won Swimmer of the Week three times previously.
Purdue had a share of all three conference awards on the women’s side this week. Rookie Meagan Lim was named Freshman of the Week after taking 3 of the 4 butterfly races in last weekend’s back-to-back duals with Michigan and Michigan State. She won both the 100 and 200 fly races against the Spartans along with the 100 fly versus Michigan, taking second in the 200. This is Lim’s second week in a row winning Freshman of the Week honors.
Michelle Cabassol is the Diver of the Week, also representing the Boilermakers. She swept the diving events against Michigan State and took second on both boards against Michigan. All four of her scores were above NCAA Zone Diving Standards for Purdue.
