Bairu, Piper Named UW Athletes of the Year
July 25, 2005 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Cross country/track and field runner Simon Bairu and swimmer Carly Piper have been named the University of Wisconsin's Athletes of the Year, the school announced recently.
Bairu, a Regina, Saskatchewan native, became the first Badger to claim the individual NCAA cross country title since 1985. In addition to winning the Big Ten cross country title, he was named Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
The senior-to-be continued to accumulate top finishes as the track and field season commenced. He took second to teammate Tim Nelson in the 10,000 meters at the Big Ten outdoor championships and eighth in the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational in California. His clocking of 28:04.75 shattered the UW record and ranked him second in the Big Ten Conference record books.
Piper became an Olympic Gold Medalist after the U.S. 800-meter freestyle relay team set a world record at the 2004 games in Athens, Greece. This past Sunday she competed for Team USA for the second year in a row, this time at the FINA World Championships in Montreal.
Piper, who hails from Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., earned the Big Ten Swimmer of the Year award for the second time in her career. She gave outstanding performances at the conference meet by winning two Big Ten titles'the 500-yard freestyle and the 1,650-yard freestyle, both for the fourth straight time.
Adding to her already remarkable collegiate swimming resume, which came to an end this past season, Piper earned her 11th career All-America award (three this year) and was a Big Ten Athlete of the Week en route to leading the Badgers to a No. 8 national ranking and a 10-1 season record.
