Defending Big Ten champs Michigan (men) and Minnesota (women) combined to take the brunt of the conference’s weekly awards, with Purdue earning the final nod.
The Michigan Wolverines won a conference rivalry matchup against Ohio State last weekend, and earned two Big Ten weekly awards to boot – men’s swimmer of the week for Dylan Bosch and women’s freshman of the week for Clara Smiddy. Meanwhile the Minnesota women earned two awards after a tough road loss to NC State. Kierra Smith was named Big Ten women’s swimmer of the week while Yu Zhou earned diver of the week honors.
The last award went to Purdue’s Steele Johnson, who has been racking up the freshman and diver of the week awards in his rookie year. Johnson swept both awards this week for the Boilermakers.
Full conference press releases, courtesy of the Big Ten, below:
Men:
Swimmer of the Week
Dylan Bosch, Michigan
Jr. – Johannesburg, South Africa – Crawford College, Sandton
• Tallied three first-place touches and a third-place finish in No. 5 Michigan’s dual meet win over No. 12 Ohio State
• Finished first in the 200 butterfly (1:44.62), 100 butterfly (47.34) and 200 individual medley (1:47.82)
• Collected a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:28.01)
• Claimed NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the 200 butterfly, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley
• Earns his sixth Swimmer of the Week honor
• Last Michigan Swimmer of the Week: Dylan Bosch (Dec. 9, 2014)
Diver and Freshman of the Week
Steele Johnson, Purdue
Fr. – Carmel, Ind. – Laurel Springs
• Collected a first- and second-place finish in platform diving and one-meter diving, respectively, in Purdue’s dual meet against No. 9 Indiana
• Scored 439.95 points on platform and 395.85 points in one-meter diving
• Tallied NCAA Zone Qualifying scores in both events
• Earns his fifth Diver of the Week honor
• Last Purdue Diver of the Week: Steele Johnson (Jan. 13, 2015)
• Earns his fifth Freshman of the Week award
• Last Purdue Freshman of the Week: Steele Johnson (Jan. 13, 2015)
2014-15 Big Ten Men’s Swimmer/Diver of the Week
Oct. 7
S: Richard Funk, Sr., MICH
D: Manny Pollard, Jr., MINN
F: Aaron Whitaker, Fr., MICH
Oct. 14
S: Anze Tavcar, So., IND
D: James Connor, Fr., IND
F: Ali Khalafalla, Fr., IND
Oct. 21
S: Matt Hutchins, So., WIS
D/F: Steele Johnson, PUR
Oct. 28
S: Dylan Bosch, Jr., MICH
D: Michael Hixon, So., IND
F: Paul Powers, MICH
F: Steele Johnson, PUR
Nov. 4
S: Anze Tavcar, So., IND
D: Michael Hixon, So., IND
F: Jerzy Twarowski, IOWA
Nov. 11
S: Josh Fleagle, Jr., OSU
D: Steele Johnson, Fr., PUR
F: Evan White, MICH
Nov. 18
S: Drew teDuits, Sr., WIS
D: John Andrade, Sr., NU
F: Lachie McLeish, MSU
Nov. 25
S: Jordan Wilimovsky, Jr., NU
D: Steele Johnson, Fr., PUR
F: Braydon Seal, OSU
Dec. 9
S: Dylan Bosch, Jr., MICH
D: Manny Pollard, Jr., MINN
F: Blake Pieroni, IND
F: Evan White, MICH
Dec. 23
D: Michael Hixon, So., IND
F: Steele Johnson, PUR
Jan. 13
S: Matt Hutchins, So., WIS
D/F: Steele Johnson, PUR
Jan. 20
S: Nate Savoy, Sr., PSU
D: Michael Hixon, So., IND
F: Blake Pieroni, IND
Jan. 27
S: Dylan Bosch, Jr., MICH
D/F: Steele Johnson, Fr., PUR
Women:
Swimmer of the Week
Kierra Smith, Minnesota
Jr. – Kelowna, B.C. – Immaculate Regional HS
• Earned three first-place finishes and added a second-place touch in Minnesota’s dual meet against North Carolina State
• Finished first in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.12), 200 breaststroke (2:10.41) and 400 individual medley (4:17.81), earning NCAA provisional qualifying times in each event
• Recorded a second-place touch in the 400 medley relay (3:43.10)
• Earns her sixth career Swimmer of the Week award
• Last Minnesota Swimmer of the Week: Kierra Smith (Nov. 25, 2014)
Diver of the Week
Yu Zhou, Minnesota
So. – Beijing, China – Beijing College of Sports
• Recorded a first-place finish in the three-meter diving event and earned second place in one-meter diving in Minnesota’s dual meet against North Carolina State
• Collected 341.47 points in the three-meter event and a 307.95 mark in one-meter diving
• Secured two NCAA Zone Diving qualifying scores
• Earns her second Diver of the Week award
• Last Minnesota Diver of the Week: Jessica Ramberg (Dec. 9, 2014)
Freshman of the Week
Clara Smiddy, Michigan
Fr. – Miami, Fla.
• Collected four first-place finishes in the 100 backstroke (53.84), 200 backstroke (1:55.69), 200 individual medley (2:02.67) and 400 freestyle relay (3:23.33) in No. 9 Michigan’s dual meet win over Ohio State
• Recorded NCAA provisional qualifying times in the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke
• Earns her third Freshman of the Week award
• Last Michigan Freshman of the Week: Emily Kopas (Jan. 6, 2015)
2014-15 Big Ten Women’s Swimmer/Diver of the Week
Oct. 7
S: Kierra Smith, Jr., MINN
D: Anna Filipcic, So., NEB
F: Clara Smiddy, MICH
Oct. 14
S: Brooklynn Snodgrass, Jr., IND
D: Anna Filipcic, So., NEB
F: Kennedy Goss, IND
Oct. 21
S: Ivy Martin, Sr., WIS
D: Mary Beth Dunnichay, Jr., PUR
F: Brooke Zeiger, MINN
Oct. 28
S: Brooklynn Snodgrass, Jr., IND
D: Lexi Tenenbaum, So., MINN
F: Clara Smiddy, MICH
Nov. 4
S: Emma Sougstad, So., IOWA
D: Mary Beth Dunnichay, Jr., PUR
F: Kennedy Goss, IND
Nov. 11
S: Ivy Martin, Sr., WIS
D: Yu Zhou, So., MINN
F: Zhesi Li, OSU
F: Addison Walkowiak, RU
Nov. 18
S: Ivy Martin, Sr., WIS
D: Ashley Peterson, So., WIS
F: Sam Stratford, ILL
Nov. 25
S: Kierra Smith, Jr., MINN
D: Nicole Schwery, Jr., NEB
F: Brooke Zeiger, MINN
F: Addison Walkowiak, RU
Dec. 9
S: Brooklynn Snodgrass, Jr., IND
D: Jessica Ramberg, Jr., MINN
F: Kennedy Goss, IND
F: Gillian Ryan, MICH
Dec. 16
S: Emma Sougstad, So., IOWA
D: Anna Filipcic, So., NEB
F: Jordan Ehly, NEB
Dec. 23
D/F: Jessica Parratto, IND
Jan. 6
S: Ali DeLoof, Jr., MICH
F: Emily Kopas, MICH
Jan. 13
S: Ali DeLoof, Jr., MICH
D: Mary Beth Dunnichay, Jr., PUR
F: Addison Walkowiak, RU
Jan. 20
S: Ivy Martin, Sr., WIS
D: Lacey Houser, Jr., IND
F: Mary Warren, NU
F: Addison Walkowiak, RU
Jan. 27
S: Kierra Smith, Jr., MINN
D: Yu Zhou, So., MINN
F: Clara Smiddy, MICH