Xavier Swimming Sweeps BIG EAST Weekly Awards

NEW YORK - After hosting Bowling Green and traveling to Cleveland State over the weekend, Xavier men's and women's swimming swept the BIG EAST Weekly Awards on Tuesday. Senior Rodrigo Suriano and sophomore Caroline Gaertner were named the BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Athletes of the Week by the conference office. Gaertner was also named the top female performer in the conference by CollegeSwimming.com.

GAERTNER EARNS FIRST

Gaertner, a native of Mendota Heights, Minn., earned the first Weekly Award from the conference offices of her Xavier career after leading the Musketeer women with a pair of wins against Cleveland State, touching the wall first in the 100 back with a time of 57.05 and in the 100 fly with a time of 56.65.

The sophomore took the first leg of the 400 free relay that placed first against the Vikings, finishing in a time of 3:33.28. Gaertner's split of 53.41 is her fastest time for a 100 free swim in her Xavier career. She also took the fly leg of the second-place finishing 200 medley relay.

On Friday in the women's meet against Bowling Green, Gaertner posted a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 1:58.74 in the 200 free, taking third, and finished second in the 100 back with a time of 57.39. She also helped the Musketeers post the top time in the 200 free relay against the Falcons.

Gaernter's performance also earned the BIG EAST Swimmer of the Week recognition from CollegeSwimming.com. This marks the second-straight week she's earned the award on the women's side.

Gaertner's honor is the second for Xavier's women this season. Emily Conners earned BIG EAST Swimmer of the Week from both the conference offices and CollegeSwimming.com in the opening week of the season.

SURIANO GOES BACK-TO-BACK

Suriano, a native of San Salvador, El Salvador, earned a second straight weekly award from the BIG EAST after taking the top spot in the 50 free and 100 free for a second meet in a row.

Competing against Cleveland State, the senior's 100 free finish of 46.08 is the top time posted in the event by a BIG EAST competitor this season. His time of 21.26 in the 50 free is the fastest in the conference this season aside from his own time of 21.00 against Miami (Ohio).

Suriano also swam the freestyle leg of the 200 medley relay that placed second against Cleveland State, finishing in 1:33.41. Suriano took the anchor leg of the second-place finishing Xavier 'A' team in the 400 free relay, finishing in a time of 3:05.82, which marks the top time in the BIG EAST so far this season.

The award is the second of Suriano's career after winning last week for his performance against Miami (Ohio). Between the men's and women's squad, the Musketeers are three-of-three earning weekly honors so for this season.

UP NEXT

Xavier heads to Granville, Ohio to face Denison on Saturday Nov. 5, with events beginning at 1:00 p.m. Live stats and a live stream of the meet will be available through DenisonBigRed.com.

After facing the Big Red, the Musketeers have the next week off before heading back to Cleveland State for the CSU Magnus Cup on Nov. 18-20. Prelims are set to begin at 9:00 a.m., finals will begin at 5:00 p.m. each day of the three day event.

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