BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Texas A&M's Laura Norman was named Freshman Swimmer of the Week by the Southeastern Conference on Tuesday after her strong performance in the No. 1 Aggies' dual meet victory over Rice last weekend.
Norman, a four-time Texas all-state swimmer from Keller, Texas, won a pair of races against the Owls and helped the Aggies to a victory in the 200-yard free relay. Norman grabbed victories in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke as the Aggies logged a 167-91 win over Rice. She beat junior teammate Katherine Huff to the wall for a .29 victory in the 100 back in 56.75, and then out-touched senior teammate Emily Neubert for a .01 win in the 100 fly (56.07 to 56.08).
Norman came to A&M after a stellar high school career at Keller High School, where she was a three-time district swimmer of the year and won four state titles (two in the 100 back and 200 IM). She also competed for the North Texas Nadadores for 12 years under head coach Bill Christensen.
Complete SEC Swimming & Diving Weekly Honors
Female Freshman of the Week
Laura Norman • Texas A&M
Freshman • Keller, Texas
Norman helped lead the Aggies to a 167-91 win over Rice on Dec. 6 with a pair of individual wins and a spot on the victorious 200-yard free relay. She beat teammate Katherine Huff to the wall for a .29 victory in the 100 back in 56.75, and then out-touched teammate Emily Neubert for a .01 win in the 100 fly (56.07 to 56.08).
Female Swimmer of the Week
Chantal Van Landeghem • Georgia
Junior • Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Van Landeghem came in first in the 50 freestyle and ninth in the 100 freestyle as Georgia claimed the team title at the three-day UGA Fall Invitational. Her time of 21.88 was an A cut and ranked as the seventh-best effort in school history. She went 48.13 and posted the ninth-fastest time in school history in the 100 freestyle. Van Landeghem accounted for 29 individual points as Georgia notched a nine-point decision over California in the team standings. Van Landeghem placed second on the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, third on the 400 medley relay, and fifth on the 200 medley relay.
Male Swimmer of the Week
Chase Kalisz • Georgia
Junior • Bel Air, Md.
Kalisz won three individual events and was on a winning relay as Georgia placed second in the three-day UGA Fall Invitational. He won the 200 individual medley in 1:43.10, the 400 individual medley in 3:39.28 and the 200 butterfly in 1:43.28, notching A cuts in the 200 butterfly and the 400 individual medley. Kalisz accounted for 60 individual points as Georgia came in second to California by only five points. He also helped the 800 freestyle relay win in 6:20.91, the third-best time in school history.
Male Diver of the Week
Fraser McKean • Auburn
Senior • Victoria, British Columbia
McKean won two out of three events at the Georgia Invitational last weekend. He set a personal best on the tower with a 413.70 to win the one-list final. McKean also won for the third time this season on the 3-meter, posting a 379.45. He was second on the 1-meter (369.40), just falling 1.5 points short of winning the event. McKean holds Auburn's top scores in all three diving events this season.
Male Freshman of the Week
Gunnar Bentz • Georgia
Freshman • Atlanta, Ga.
Bentz came in second in the 400 individual medley, third in the 200 individual medley and fifth in the 200 breaststroke as Georgia placed second in the three-day UGA Fall Invitational. He now stands third in the 400 IM (3:40.57), fourth in the 200 IM (1:43.48) and sixth in the 200 breaststroke (1:56.02) in school history. Bentz accounted for 47 individual points as Georgia came in second to California by only five points. He also helped the 400 and 800 freestyle relays post first-place times of 2:51.87 and 6:20.91, respectively.