Oakland Captures Both Weekly Swimming & Diving Awards
Oakland Captures Both Weekly Swimming & Diving Awards
ELMHURST, Ill. – Oakland's Jorden Merriliees and Tricia Grant were named The Summit League's Swimming and Diving Athletes of the Week for their performances Oct. 23-29.
MEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jorden Merriliees, Oakland
Fr. // Brisbane, Australia
Merriliees garners his first career Athlete of the Week honor after posting six top-three finishes, including three individual event wins. The freshman opened against Notre Dame with first-place finishes in the 1,000 Free (9:24.15) and 200 Back (1:50.86) and a second-place finish in the 400 IM (4:00.08), all three times are league-bests this season, while his 400 IM ranks eighth all-time in league history. He then helped the Golden Grizzlies defeat Wayne State in a dual meet, with three top-three finishes. Merriliees won the 200 Fly (1:53.25), placed second in the 100 Fly (50.72) and third in the 200 IM (1:56.71). Each of his times vs. Wayne State rank second in the league.
Also nominated: Tyler Neaveill, Western Illinois.
Previous winners: Oct. 16 – Matt Abercrombie, WIU; Oct. 23 – Rich Sunkel, IUPUI.
WOMEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Tricia Grant, Oakland
So. // West Bloomfield, Mich.
Grant earns her first career Athlete of the Week honor after winning both diving events and helping her squad defeat Wayne State. The West Bloomfield, Mich., native won the one-meter dive with a score of 302.17 and the three-meter dive with 295.57 points. Both scores are league-bests this season and rank in the league's top-10 all-time. Her one-meter score ranks fourth and her three-meter score is sixth.
Also nominated: Julia Rassmussen, Western Illinois.
Previous winners: Oct. 16 – Nikki Flynn, OU; Oct. 23 – Elizabeth Bourgeois, IUPUI.
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Entering its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 144,000 at nine universities, four of which are located in top 58 U.S. metro populations (Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Omaha). Member institutions include: Fort Wayne (Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), Kansas City (University of Missouri-Kansas City), North Dakota State University, Oakland University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced 54 All-Americans, 37 Academic All-America selections and seven NCAA Championships. For more information about the league and its history, visit www.thesummitleague.org to "See The Summit" or follow on Twitter @thesummitleague.
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