The following is a press release courtesy of the Missouri Valley Conference:
Danielle Freeman of Evansville, Lauren Pavel of Missouri State and Sherry Zhang of Southern Illinois have been named MVC Swimmers and Diver of the Week, respectively.
MVC Swimmers of the Week
Danielle Freeman – So. – Evansville (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
UE sophomore Danielle Freeman continued to dominate the competition in a meet against Missouri State on Friday afternoon. Freeman improved her MVC-leading time in the 50 Free, swimming a time of 23.97 to defeat the competition by .61 seconds. She also remained undefeated in the 100 Free, posting a time of 52.82. She is the only MVC swimmer to finish the event in under 53 seconds. In the 400 Free Relay, Freeman was part of a team that blitzed the competition by 6.02 seconds, swimming a 3:36.22. It was one of the top times in the league this season.
Lauren Pavel – So. – Missouri State (Omaha Neb.)
Missouri State sophomore Lauren Pavel won four individual events over the weekend to lead the Bears in duals against Evansville and Southern Illinois. In the dual against Evansvile, Pavel won the 200 IM (2:12.16), the 100 breaststroke (1:06.54) and also was the second leg of the 400 medley relay team that finished first, giving her top honors in all three races she competed in. On Saturday at Southern Illinois, Pavel again won two individual events by taking first in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.08) and in the 200 breaststroke (2:26.22), while also placing fourth in the 200 IM in a time of 2:12.61. Her current 100 breaststroke and 200 IM times rank her first in the MVC at this point in the 2014-15 season.
Other Notable Performances: Tori Fryar (UALR); Marissa Yontz (Illinois State)
MVC Diver of the Week
Sherry Zhang – Jr. – Southern Illinois (Hu Bei, China)
Sherry Zhang followed her strong performance against the University of Evansville by sweeping the one and three-meter dive against Missouri State. In the one-meter dive, Zhang bested the field with a score of 375.07. The junior saw the same success in the three-meter dive, winning the event with a score of 418.57, nearly 100 points more than the second place finisher.
Other Notable Performances: Stephanie Train (Evansville)