ST. LOUIS – Missouri State’s Sydney Zupan was selected as both the Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer and Eagle Bank Scholar-Athlete of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday (Oct. 11). The awards are the first honors for the junior this season.
The junior kicked off her 2016-17 season in a record-breaking weekend at the first annual Missouri State Invitational. She earned a total of five victories and a third-place finish along with setting two personal and pool records.
The Wildwood, Mo. native gave the Bears a commanding lead in the third leg of the 400-yard medley relay that went on to break the pool record with a time of 3:43.79, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of second-place Rice. Then, in the 100y butterfly, Zupan set a new personal and pool record in a dominating, 55.12 second outing in the A-Final.
In the women’s 100 backstroke B-Final, Zupan set her second personal record of the day with a time of 54.95, which proved to be the fastest time in both heats of the event. In her fourth race of the day, she swam the third leg in Missouri State’s victorious 200 medley relay team that finished with a time of 1:42.40. In her fifth victory of the day, Zupan took home the 200 backstroke A-Final after leading the entire race.
Heading into the final event of the day, the Bears led the Houston Cougars by just two points. Zupan closed out the Missouri State Invitational as the first leg of the women’s 400 freestyle relay where she swam neck-and-neck with Houston. She kept the squad at the front of the pack as she finished her leg in 51.67 seconds. With the help of Zupan, Missouri State would go on to finish third in the event, earning just enough points to earn a co-champion title with 347 points.
Zupan boasts a 4.00 grade point average in cell and molecular biology.
To qualify for Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels, student-athletes must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20, completed at least one academic year at a Valley institution and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing.
Redshirt freshmen and first-year junior college transfers are not eligible. In addition to the academic qualifications, student-athletes will be evaluated on their athletic performance for a one-week period.
The Missouri State women’s swimming and diving team returns to action Saturday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. for the Bears’ Alumni Meet at Hammons Student Center.
Courtesy of MVC Athletics
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