Denison junior Matt Hedman and sophomore KT Kustritz were recognized by CollegeSwimming.com as this week's Division III Swimmers of the Week after winning a combined five individual events this past weekend in Pittsburgh. This marks the second national Swimmer of the Week honor of Hedman's career, while Kustritz has totaled her fourth of the season, and fifth of her career.
On Friday, Jan. 19 at the University of Pittsburgh, Hedman earned a pair of top-five finishes for the men's team in the 300 freestyle (2:40.62) and the 500 freestyle (4:36.26) events. The following day at Carnegie Mellon University in a tri-meet with the Tartans and Johns Hopkins University, Hedman added victories in the 500 free with a time of 4:38.17, and the 1,000 free, touching the wall in 9:34.51.
On the women's side, Kustritz captured Denison's lone victory against the Panthers, logging a 28.11 in the 50-yard breaststroke. She continued her dominance in Saturday's tri-meet, taking first and adding 'B' cut times in the 100 (1:01.97) and 200 breaststrokes (2:17.61). The St. Paul, Minn. native also joined Angela Le, Maddie Hopkins and Gabriella Nutter to win the 200 medley relay with a 'B' cut time of 1:44.14, and then captured the crown in the 200 freestyle relay with Nutter, Le and Casey Kirby in 1:36.10.
The Big Red men's swimming & diving team enters this week as the nation's top-ranked squad in the latest TYR/CSCAA Division III Polls, while the women's team currently ranks No. 3 in the nation. Both sides will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 3 when they host Ohio Wesleyan University for Senior Day at the Trumbull Aquatics Center. The meet is set to begin at 10 a.m.
