WVU Sweeps Big 12 Swimming and Diving Weekly Honor
October 19, 2016 05:58 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After two strong weekends to open the season, the West Virginia University swimming and diving team swept the Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Swimmer and Diver of the Week honors.
For the first time in WVU history, the Mountaineers earned all four Big 12 Weekly awards. Senior Emma Skelley was named the Big 12 Women’s Swimmer of the Week and sophomore Merwane El Merini was the Big 12 Men’s Swimmer of the Week. For the divers, junior Michael Proietto earned Big 12 Men’s Diver of the Week accolades, while sophomore Julia Calcut is the women’s diver of the week.
“It's always an honor to have our athletes recognized by the Big 12 coaches,” said coach Vic Riggs. “Each of them competed very well and were huge contributors to the team last weekend.”
Additionally, Skelley and El Merini were named Big 12 Swimmers-of-the-Week by CollegeSwimming News on Tuesday.
Skelley marked her name into the WVU record books last weekend, as she set a WVU Natatorium record in the women’s 1,650 freestyle. She won the race with a career-best time of 16:56.11, besting WVU graduate Rachael Burnett’s previous record of 16:59.32. In addition to her record-setting swim, Skelley posted two more individual wins to help WVU to victories over Seton Hall, Xavier and Butler on October 14-15. In the women’s 500 freestyle, Skelley took first place with a season-best time of 1:52.45. Her third individual win came in the women’s 200 freestyle with a season-best time of 1:52.45. She added a third place finish as a member of the 400 freestyle relay.
El Merini claimed seven victories at the Big 12 vs. Big East Weekend on October 14-15, three individual wins and four as part of relay teams at the WVU Natatorium. His first individual win came in the men’s 50 freestyle, where he touched the wall in 20.83 to win by 0.57 seconds. In the men’s 100 backstroke, El Merini placed first with a season-best time of 50.90, winning by 0.97 seconds. The sophomore grabbed his third and final individual win in the men’s 100 freestyle, with a 46.84. As a member of four winning relay events, the 200 and 400 freestyle relays and the 200 and 400 medley relays, El Merini added season-best times in the 50 freestyle (20.69) and 100 freestyle (45.86). To open the year, El Merini claimed seven wins at the West Virginia State Games, with three individual wins and four victories in relay events. El Merini’s strong showing helped the WVU men to a dominating win against seven in-state foes.
The Mountaineer divers came off a dominating weekend, as Calcut and Proietto each earned NCAA Zone qualifying marks on both 1-meter and 3-meter in just their second regular-season meet of the year.
“This is a nice award for both Julia and Mike,” said diving coach Michael Grapner. “They had very good meets this past week. Julia continues to climb higher and higher, she worked hard all summer and continues to do the same in every practice. Her focus and drive are really going to prove successful this season. Mike put it together last weekend and stayed very consistent with 1-meter and 3-meter. He has a very competitive diving list and with the right motivation he can be one of the top divers in the conference and in our zone. This recognition will be a nice motivator for both Mike and Julia to keep working hard and staying focused on the season.”
Calcut opened the year winning both 1- and 3-meter on back-to-back weekends, with each win coming by at least 20 points. She swept the diving events this weekend, both with NCAA Zone-qualifying scores, with a 282.97 on 1-meter and a 316.58 on 3-meter. Calcut claimed the 1-meter win on Friday by more than 20 points, while Saturday’s 3-meter score was 25 points higher than the next-highest scoring diver. WVU opened the season at the West Virginia State Games on October 7-8, where the WVU divers squared off against Marshall. Calcut opened the year with a pair of wins over the in-state rival, thanks to a 288.15 on 1-meter and a 273.08 on 3-meter. The victory on 1-meter came by 57 points, while the margin of victory on 3-meter was more than 40 points.
Proietto won both diving events last weekend, with an NCAA Zone-qualifying score of 315.07 on 1-meter and a 361.35 on 3-meter. His 3-meter score of 361.35 was more than 60 points higher than the next-best score, while he won 1-meter by nearly15 points. Proietto’s wins helped the Mountaineers to a sweep of Seton Hall and Xavier at the Big 12 vs. Big East Weekend on October 14 and 15. At the West Virginia State Games on October 7-8, the Mountaineer men posted a victory against seven in-state foes. While the divers did not face outside competition at the event, Proietto’s 280.88 on 3-meter and 263.93 on 1-meter helped WVU to the WV State Games title.
Up next, the Mountaineers travel to Blacksburg, Virginia, to compete against Virginia Tech, Duke and William & Mary, from October 21-22. The Hokies will host the two-day event with Friday’s meet starting at 5 p.m. and Saturday’s races beginning at 11 a.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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