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Skelley, El Merini Earn Swimmer-of-the-Week Honors
January 31, 2017 05:38 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior Emma Skelley and sophomore Merwane El Merini of the West Virginia University swimming team have been named Big 12 Swimmers-of-the-Week by CollegeSwimming News.
“Emma and Merwane have had very strong seasons and continue to improve throughout the year," coach Vic Riggs said. "It's nice to see their hard work and dedication recognized."
This is Skelley and El Merini’s second Swimmer-of-the-Week honor this season, as the duo also swept the awards on Oct. 18.
After a pair of meets at Bucknell and Villanova last weekend, Skelley led the WVU women with a total of four individual wins and El Merini won six races, four in relay competition and two in individual events.
The Mountaineers claimed the victory at Bucknell on Friday, where the women’s squad won 126-75 and the men won 124-79. Skelley led the WVU women with three individual wins.
Her first victory came in the 1,000 freestyle where Skelley led a 1-2 finish with a then-season-best time of 10:12.14. Skelley turned around and notched another win in the very next event, thanks to a 1:53.67 in the 200 freestyle. She completed her perfect day with a win in the 500 freestyle in 5:01.49, winning by nearly 10 seconds for her third win in three events.
Along with swimming as a member of two winning relay events at Bucknell, the 400 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay, El Merini added a win in the men’s 100 freestyle with a time of 45.34.
At Villanova, Skelley claimed a win in the 1,000 freestyle, besting her season-best time from a day ago with a 10:11.85.
El Merini won the men’s 100 backstroke as he touched the wall in 50.24 to win by 0.88 seconds. He also was a member of the WVU men’s relay victories in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.
The Mountaineers have three weeks off to prepare for the Big 12 Championship from Feb. 22-25 in Austin, Texas. The four day championship meet begins at 11 a.m. ET each day.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUSwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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