NEW YORK – Xavier’s Rodrigo Suriano and Caroline Gaetner captured the BIG EAST Swimming & Diving weekly awards Tuesday.
BIG EAST Men's Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week
Rodrigo Suriano, Xavier, Sr.
For a second straight meet, Suriano swept the 50 and 100 free. Competing against Cleveland State, the senior’s 100 free finish of 46.08 is the top time posted in the event by a BIG EAST competitor this season. His time of 21.26 in the 50 free is the fastest in the conference this season aside from his own time of 21.00 against Miami (Ohio). Suriano also swam the freestyle leg of the 200 medley relay that placed second against Cleveland State, finishing in 1:33.41. He also took the anchor leg of the second-place finishing Xavier ‘A’ team in the 400 free relay, finishing in a time of 3:05.82, also the top time in the BIG EAST so far this season.
BIG EAST Women's Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week
Caroline Gaetner, Xavier, So.
Gaertner took the top spot in a pair of events in the Musketeers’ meet against Cleveland State to lead Xavier in scoring. She touched the wall first in the 100 back with a time of 57.05 and in the 100 fly with a time of 56.65. The sophomore took the first leg of the 400 free relay that placed first against the Vikings, finishing in a time of 3:33.28. Gaertner’s split of 53.41 is her fastest time for a 100 free swim in her Xavier career. She also took the fly leg of the second-place finishing 200 medley relay. On Friday against Bowling Green, Gaertner posted a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 1:58.74 in the 200 free, taking third, and finished second in the 100 back with a time of 57.39. She also helped the Musketeers post the top time in the 200 free relay against the Falcons.
Notable Performances
Noah Yanchulis, Seton Hall, Jr.
Yanchulis was dominant in helping the Pirates go 3-0 in dual meets last week. Competing against Monmouth, Providence and Bucknell, the junior took top finishes five individual events, including a 47.15 performance in the 100 freestyle against Bucknell.
Sara Ouellette, Seton Hall, Fr.
The rookie won five individual races and was part of one winning relay squad to help the Pirates go 2-1 in dual meets last week. In a win at Monmouth, she captured the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.35 and the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:10.55.
David Chung, Georgetown, Sr.
Chung earned points in all three of events to help the Hoyas to a close victory over Davidson. He won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 51.63, narrowly edging a teammate. He also placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke and swam the second leg in the final event of the meet, the 400-yard freestyle, to help GU to victory.
Morgan Conley, Gerogetown, Fr.
In a strong win over Davidson, Conley took first in a pair of races, sweeping both the 50- and 100-yard freestyles. She outstretched her opponent by .22 seconds in the 50, touching the wall in 24.45 seconds. In the 100, her margin of victory was just .28 as she won with a time of 54.24. She also was swam the anchor leg for the 200-yard medley relay, which the Hoyas won in 2:06.5.