Three Badgers Named Swimmer of the Week
October 26, 2004 | Women's Swimming & Diving
For the second time this season, the University of Wisconsin swimming and diving teams have earned three Big Ten Athlete of the Week awards, as swimmers Carly Piper (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and Tim Liebhold (Chapel Hill, N.C.), as well as diver Josh Bonner (Ridley Park, Pa.), were selected this week, the conference office announced.
All three won multiple events as the Badger men's and women 's teams, ranked No. 16 and No. 10, respectively, defeated Iowa's teams to each start the year with a 3-0 record.
'These individuals, as well as the entire team, have been off to an excellent start this season,' head coach Eric Hansen said. 'After the summer that Carly and Tim had (qualifying for the Olympic Trials), this is in some ways to be expected but a great honor nonetheless.'
Piper, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, picked up four victories and two third-place finishes against the Hawkeyes. Her winning times of 1:50.37 in the 200-yard freestyle and 4:49.80 in the 500-yard freestyle were both NCAA 'B' standards.
On the men's side, Liebhold won the 100-yard backstroke (50.54), the 200-yard backstroke (1:51.42), the 200-yard IM (1:51.78), the 400-yard IM (4:02.29) and helped lead the 400-yard medley relay team to victory (3:22.28).
Bonner, meanwhile, swept the diving competitions, winning the 1-meter (386.20) and the 3-meter (253.24) events to earn his first Diver of the Week selection.
'The award is a huge step for the men's diving program,' head diving coach Josh Seykora said. 'It's also a testament to Josh's hard work and shows he's headed in the right direction.'
Wisconsin will next face Arizona at 2 p.m. Friday in Tucson, Ariz.
