Courtesy: Big 12 Sports
TCU and Texas student-athletes were awarded Big 12 swimming and diving honors for the second week of the season, as the Longhorns won five of the six awards. For the women’s awards, Emma Sticklen won swimmer of the week while Hailey Hernandez brought home diver of the week and Ellie Andrews was named newcomer of the week. For the men, Carson Foster captured swimmer of the week and Jordan Windle earned diver of the week. TCU’s Geremia Freri was honored with newcomer of the week.
Sticklen opened up the 2021 season with two event wins and a top-five finish in the Dust Off Your Boots Invitational in Austin. Sticklen dominated the 200-yard butterfly, winning the event with a time of 1:56.24. The sophomore swam the third leg of the 200-yard medley relay to help the Longhorns win with a time of 1:39.96. She also finished fourth with a time of 50.90 in the 100-yard freestyle. This is Sticklen’s first conference honor, helping Texas secure victory against Incarnate Word 212-81.
In her opening meet as a Longhorn, Hernandez etched her name into the Texas record book setting a school-record score of 426.53 in the 3m. The freshman finished second in the 1m with a score of 321.45. This is Hernandez’s first Big 12 award.
Andrews made a strong debut for Texas, sweeping the breaststroke events in her first collegiate meet. The Dublin, Ohio native posted winning times of 1:01.40 in the 100-yard breaststroke and a time of 2:13.53 in the 200-yard breaststroke. This is the freshman’s first Big 12 accolade.
Foster helped Texas win its first meet of the season in dominating fashion defeating Incarnate Word 194-98. The sophomore was the lone competitor to finish the 1000-yard freestyle in under nine minutes clocking in at 8:59.93. The 2021 Big 12 Men’s Swimming Newcomer of the Year also finished first in the 400-yard IM with a time of 3:46.15. This is Foster’s second Big 12 weekly award and first this season.
Windle opened his final campaign sweeping both diving events in impressive fashion. The Morrisville, N.C. native had near-perfect scores on both boards, finishing with a 449.63 in the 1m and a 486.23 in the 3m. The four-time Big 12 Diver of the Year has now won 18 Big 12 Diver of the Week awards in his distinguished career.
Freri had a huge win for TCU at the FIU TYR Classic helping the Horned Frogs finish second overall. The Verona, Italy native won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:29.19. Freri finished second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:38.58 and fifth in the 200-yard butterfly at 1:51.03. This is Freri’s second Big 12 award after he won men’s swimmer the first week of the season.
October 6 Awards
Men’s Swimmer: Geremia Freri, TCU, Fr.
Men’s Diver: David Ekdahl, TCU, Fr.
Men’s Newcomer: David Ekdahl, TCU, Fr.
Women’s Swimmer: Kate Steward, KU, Sr.
Women’s Diver: N/A
Women’s Newcomer: Olivia Rhodes, TCU, Fr.
October 13 Awards
Men’s Swimmer: Carson Foster, Texas, So.
Men’s Diver: Jordan Windle, Texas, GS.
Men’s Newcomer: Geremia Freri, TCU, Fr.
Women’s Swimmer: Emma Sticklen, Texas, So.
Women’s Diver: Hailey Hernandez, Texas, Fr.
Women’s Newcomer: Ellie Andrews, Texas, Fr.
