Ohio State Men Sweep Weekly Awards; Purdue’s Mercer Gets 2nd Award of Season for School Record

After an impressive weekend at their home Ohio State Invitational, where they won and topped the Florida Gators men, the Buckeyes men have swept the Big Ten ‘Of the Week’ awards for their gender.

Connor McDonald won Swimmer of the Week, Christian Holstein took Diver of the Week, and Matt McHugh took the Freshman of the Week honor.

McDonald was a huge part of the team’s effort, having won three individual events, including an NCAA “A” qualifying standard in the 200 back with a 1:40.83 (also a new School Record). His teammate McHugh was also impressive, with marks of 47.15 in the 100 fly and 47.98 in the 100 back.

On the women’s side, Purdue took two of the awards, with Swimmer of the Week going to senior Carly Mercer and Diver of the Week going to senior Casey Matthews. Mercer joins Michigan’s Ali DeLoof and Indiana’s Brooklyn Snodgrass as two-time winners of the award this season after breaking the Purdue School Record in the 100 yard free at the Ohio State Invitational (48.43).

Female Freshman of the Week goes to Northwestern’s Lauren Abruzzo after her 4:46 in the 400 free and 16:10 in the 1650 free at the Northwestern TYR Invitational, that included breaking the Pool Record.

The full listing of the athletes’ accomplishments that earned them their awards are below.

Swimmer of the Week
Connor McDonald, Ohio State
Jr. – Lake Oswego, Oregon – Jesuit

• Recorded three first-place finishes at the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio
• Posted NCAA automatic qualifying marks in the 200-yard backstroke (1:40.83) and 200-yard medley relay (1:25.57), and also met NCAA provisional standards in the 100-yard backstroke (46.88), 200-yard individual medley (1:47.77) and 400-yard medley relay (3:11.85)
• His 200-yard backstroke time set a new school record
• Collects his first-career Swimmer of the Week award
• Last Ohio State Swimmer of the Week: Jason Schnur (Dec. 4, 2012)

Diver of the Week
Christian Holstein, Ohio State
Sr. – Columbus, Ohio – Upper Arlington

• Placed first in the three-meter (403.60) and second in the one-meter (371.15) diving competitions at the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio
• Both dives met NCAA Zone Diving standards
• Helped lead No. 10 Ohio State to a first-place finish among five teams
• Earns his third-career Diver of the Week honor
• Last Ohio State Diver of the Week: Christian Holstein (Nov. 5, 2013)

Freshman of the Week
Matt McHugh, Ohio State
Fr. – West Bend, Wisc. – West Bend

• Posted an NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the 200-yard medley relay (1:25.57) and met NCAA provisional qualifying standards in the 100-yard butterfly (47.15), 100-yard backstroke (47.98) and 400-yard medley relay (3:11.25) at the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio
• Was part of the 200-yard medley relay that set a new meet record
• Helped lead the 10^th-ranked Buckeyes to a first-place finish in the five-team field, including wins over No. 2 Florida, No. 12 Purdue and No. 18 Virginia
• Collects his second Freshman of the Week honor
• Last Ohio State Freshman of the Week: Matt McHugh (Oct. 29, 2013)

Swimmer of the Week
Carly Mercer, Purdue
Sr. – Fishers, Ind. – Hamilton Southeastern

• Posted four individual NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the 100-yard freestyle (48.43), 50-yard freestyle (22.69), 200-yard freestyle (1:46.90) and 200-yard individual medley (2:00.24) at the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio
• Set a new school record in the 100-yard freestyle
• Her 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley marks are Purdue’s season-best times
• Earns her third-career Swimmer of the Week award
• Last Purdue Swimmer of the Week: Carly Mercer (Nov. 12, 2013)

Diver of the Week
Casey Matthews, Purdue
Sr. – Getzville, N.Y. – Williamsville North

• Finished first in the one-meter (312.95) and three-meter (371.60) diving competitions at the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus, Ohio
• Both dives met NCAA Zone Diving standards
• Her three-meter score set a new meet record
• Collects her second-career Diver of the Week honor
• Last Purdue Diver of the Week: Michelle Cabassol (Oct. 29, 2013)

Freshman of the Week
Lauren Abruzzo, Northwestern
Fr. – Denver, Colo. – Kent Denver

• Posted NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the 500-yard freestyle (4:46.11), 400-yard individual medley (4:18.56) and 1,650-yard freestyle (16:10.40) at the TYR Invitational in Evanston, Ill.
• Her 1,650-yard freestyle time set a new school and pool record, while her 500-yard freestyle time was also a Norris Aquatics Center pool record
• Helped lead the Wildcats to a first-place finish among nine teams
• Collects her first Freshman of the Week honor
• Last Northwestern Freshman of the Week: Lacey Locke (Nov. 12, 2013)