Courtesy: Liberty Athletics
LYNCHBURG, Va. – After standout performances at the 2018 All-American Celebration Meet, Liberty redshirt sophomore Mikayla Herich and freshman Olivia Robinson have been honored by the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) with weekly honors.
Herich was named CCSA Women’s Swimmer of the Week, while Robinson was tabbed CCSA Women’s Diver of the Week. This is the second time in program history that Liberty has received both CCSA weekly honors in the same week, and first since Oct. 20, 2015, when Kendall Hough (Swimmer) and Courtney Fox (Diver) earned awards. Herich joins teammate Gianni Pitto (Oct. 2) as the Lady Flames’ CCSA Swimmer of the Week honorees this season, while Robinson is Liberty’s first Diver of the Week this year.
Hailing from Hebron, Ky., Herich posted three very fast swims at the All-American Celebration Meet, helping Liberty go 3-0 at the event. She won the 200 IM on Friday night in 2:05.17, the fastest 200 IM time in the conference this year. Herich finished second in the 1000 freestyle on Saturday in 10:22.80, the fastest 1000 by a CCSA swimmer this season. Her winning 400 IM time of 4:25.50 on Saturday was the fastest CCSA time in 2018-19. She moved into the top five in program history in both the 1000 freestyle and 400 IM with her times on Saturday.
A native of Friendswood, Texas, Robinson had a record-setting, historical weekend for Liberty, setting two records, earning one event win and one NCAA Zone Qualifying score during the All-American Celebration meet. On Friday, she set a program record with her winning three-meter diving score of 281.25. That score earned her a spot at the 2019 NCAA Zone Qualifying Meet, and also served as the first time in program history that Liberty has won a diving event at a dual meet. On Saturday, she set a new program record in platform diving, scoring 198.37 points to finish second. She placed fifth in one-meter diving with a 241.00 score on Saturday. Robinson holds the program record on all three boards.
Liberty will next compete at Marshall, Nov. 9-10 at Marshall’s Frederick A. Fitch Natatorium in Huntington, W.Va. The Lady Flames are 4-0 all-time against the Thundering Herd, defeating Marshall in back-to-back weeks last season.