Three Trojans came away with Big Ten weekly honors after opening USC’s season with strong showings at the USC Invitational, the conference announced Wednesday.
Seniors Minna Abraham and Michal Chmielewski were chosen as the Big Ten Women’s and Men’s Swimmers of the Week, while Ludo Di Maria earned Big Ten Women’s Freshman of the Week recognition.
Abraham delivered wins in the 200y free and 200y IM, clocking 1:43.72 and 1:58.08, respectively. She also posted the fastest overall time in the 1650y free at 16:26.30 during an exhibition swim. On top of the individual work, she was part of four relay wins for USC, swimming on the victorious 200y and 400y free relay teams and the 200y and 400y medley relay squads.
Chmielewski was just as clean in his individual events, taking all three of his races. He won the 100y back in 46.86, the 100y fly in 45.86 and the 200y fly in 1:41.79. He also helped USC sweep four relays, competing on the winning 200y and 400y free relays and the 200y and 400y medley relays.
Di Maria made an immediate impact in her first college meet. The freshman from Milan, Italy, won the 50y free in 22.71 and the 100y free in 49.57, and she added a runner-up finish in the 100y back at 53.79. She was also part of all four of USC’s relay victories, anchoring the 200y and 400y medley relays, swimming the second leg of the 200y free relay and taking the anchor leg of the 400y free relay.
USC’s next action comes Saturday, Oct. 17, when a group of Trojans heads to Long Beach for the MPSF Open Water Championships.
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