The SEC announced its weekly swimming and diving awards for the conference.
SEC Men’s Swimmer of the Week: Rex Maurer, Texas
Texas’ Rex Maurer, a junior from Pasadena, Calif., captured two first-place finishes in the win over No. 23 Texas A&M. Maurer broke a 25-year-old Rec Center Natatorium record in the 1000 free with a time of 8:37.19 (previous mark of 8:44.11 – Chris Thompson, Michigan in 2001). He also touched the wall first in the 200 IM with a time of 1:42.97, one-hundredth of a second shy of his season best.
SEC Men’s Diver of the Week: Bennett Greene, Tennessee
Tennessee’s Bennett Greene, a sophomore from Knoxville, Tenn., swept the springboard events in the win over Duke. In the 3-meter, Greene put up a personal-best score of 432.55, which moved him to No. 8 in the Tennessee record books. He also won the 1-meter with a final score of 381.45.
SEC Men’s Co-Freshmen of the Week: Ahmed Jaouadi, Florida and Rafael Fente-Damers, Texas
Florida’s Ahmed Jaouadi, a freshman from Tunis, Tunisia, posted a meet-high 27 points in the win over No. 13 Florida State. Jaouadi swept his three individual events, posting first-place finishes and NCAA qualifying times in both distance freestyle races. He won the 500 free in 4:16.00 and the 1,650 free in 14:39.75, while also claiming victory in the 200 free (1:35.05). Jaouadi added a 20.84 split as the second leg of Florida’s 200-yard freestyle relay, which recorded an exhibition time of 1:24.08.
Texas’ Rafael Fente-Damers, a freshman from Madrid, Spain, earned four first-place finishes in the win over No. 23 Texas A&M. Fente-Damers opened the meet as the anchor leg of the winning 200 medley relay squad (1:23.09), before he claimed the 200 free with a time of 1:33.66. He then won the 100 free (43.10) and closed the meet as part of the winning 400 freestyle relay team (2:49.72/42.31).
SEC Women’s Swimmer of the Week: Ella Jansen, Tennessee
Tennessee’s Ella Jansen, a sophomore from Ontario, Canada, secured 21 points to help the Lady Vols earn the win over No. 20 Duke. Jansen set a personal best in the 200 fly with a time of 1:52.88, moving her to third all-time in program history. She also set season-best times in both the 100 free (48.36) and 400 IM (4:02.50), with her time in the 400 IM now ranking as the fourth fastest in the country.
SEC Women’s Co-Divers of the Week: Maria Sanchez, Arkansas and Alejandra Estudillo, Texas
Arkansas’ Maria Sanchez, a sophomore from Mexico City, Mexico, garnered three podium finishes in the regular-season finale against North Texas. Sanchez placed second on the 1-meter with a final score of 340.15. She then took the top spot on the 3-meter with a final score of 344.63 and broke the 10-meter platform pool record to win the platform with a score of 341.30.
Texas’ Alejandra Estudillo, a sophomore from Nuevo Leon, Mexico, won both springboard events in the win over No. 24 Texas A&M. Estudillo posted top scores of 324.08 on the 1-meter and 340.50 on the 3-meter vs. the Aggies.
SEC Women’s Freshman of the Week: Tessa Giele, Alabama
Alabama’s Tessa Giele, a freshman from Rotterdam, Netherlands, was a part of four podium finishes in the win over No. 17 Auburn. Giele recorded NCAA qualifying times to finish second in the 50 free (22.08) and win the 100 fly (51.67). She also swam the third leg of the winning 400 free relay (3:13.22/49.24) and 200 medley relay (1:34.34/23.01).
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with the SEC. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.
