NCAA Qualifiers Honored at Halftime
February 26, 2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Seven of the nine members of the University of Wisconsin women's swimming and diving team that have qualified for the 2008 NCAA Women's Swimming Championships were recognized at halftime of the men's basketball game against Michigan State on Thursday night. These individuals were also named to the All-Big Ten teams.
Seniors Jackie Vavrek (West Chicago, Ill.) and Hannah McClurg (San Diego, Calif.) and freshmen Kelsey Gergen (Hastings, Minn.) and Maggie Meyer (North Oaks, Minn.) were all named first-team All-Big Ten, while sophomores Gabby Maddalena (The Woodlands, Texas) and Rosie Morahan (London, England) and juniors Christine Zwiegers (Somerset West, South Africa) and Jen Illescas (East Elmhurst, N.Y.) were named second-team All-Big Ten.
Illescas and Zweigers were not present Thursday night.
Vavrek was awarded first-team honors for the third year in a row, while also being named to the second-team in 2005. This is McClurg's first time on the first-team after being named second-team All-Big Ten three years in a row. Gergen and Meyer each earned their first ever first-team All-Big Ten honors.
All four first-team members were part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that set a new school and Big Ten record in the event by finishing in a time of 1:28.51.
Zwiegers has now been named to the second-team two years in a row, while Maddalena, Morahan and Illescas were named for the first time in their careers.
The women's swimming and diving team is off until the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio, March 20-22.
