Michigan’s Bruno Ortiz and Purdue’s Layne Rogers each won a Big Ten award this week for their performances in the midst of training trips in warm country far from their frozen midwestern training bases.
Ortiz was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week for the week of January 7 after helping Michigan to its fifth straight title at the Orange Bowl Classic in Key Largo, Florida.
The was tailor-made for the junior, a versatile sprinter with some of the most dangerous breakout speed in the NCAA. Ortiz won the 50 free and 50 breaststroke at the short-course meters competition and also swam legs of the winning 200 free and 200 medley relays for the Wolverines, who are the defending NCAA champions.
Rogers won the award even farther from home. He put up the top score in 1-meter diving at Purdue’s road dual meet with the University of Hawaii, scoring 359.35. Rogers’ performance was enough to beat Hawaii’s Amund Gismervik, who won the 3-meter event which no Purdue divers entered. The big 1-meter points from Rogers helped Purdue win the meet 134-103 on the men’s side.
This is the second Big Ten weekly award of the 2013-2014 season for both men. In addition, Purdue’s Austin Flager was named Big Ten freshman of the week for the first time in his career after winning the 50 free and 200 medley relay against Hawaii.
