Courtesy: Big Ten
MINNEAPOLIS – A pair of Gopher newcomers have been named Freshman of the Week, the Big Ten announced on Wednesday.
Morgan Thomas on the women’s side and Ian Steffen on the men’s side both earned the recognition for their performances at the Tampa dual meet on Jan. 5.
Thomas competed in four events at the meet, taking first place in each. Individually, she swam a 23.62 in the 50 free and a 50.95 in the 100 free to claim the top spots. As a member of the winning 200 medley relay team, she swam a 24.51 split in the 50 fly. Swimming the second leg of the 400 free relay, Thomas had a 100 split of 52.07.
Steffen also competed in four events in his first meet of the second half of the season. Individually, the Marion, Iowa native placed first in the 100 back with a time of 50.47 and third in the 100 fly with a time of 49.95. Steffen led off the 200 medley relay with a 50 back split time of 24.25 before leading off the 400 free relay with a 100 split of 46.33.
The honor is the first of their career for both Thomas and Steffen.
The Minnesota swimming teams return to the pool on Jan. 19 for a two-day dual at Pittsburgh.