Nov. 1, 2002
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
The accolades keep on rolling in for both the men's and women's swimming and diving team. This time it comes from the Big 12 Conference. The conference announced that senior Radu Miclaus and freshman Evan Watters were selected as the Big 12 Male Swimmer and Diver of the Month, respectively. Junior Andrea Nigh was voted as the Female Swimmer of the Month. Selections were made by a vote of the league's head swimming and diving coaches.
Nigh has won all eight of the races she has swam in so far this season. In Tiger victories at Nebraska, versus Texas A&M and at the Fall Illini Classic (Illinois, Michigan State and Southern Illinois), Nigh claimed 50 and 100 freestyle victories along with wins as the anchor leg of both the 200 and 400 relay teams. Both her times in the 50 (23.94) and 100 freestyle (52.17) at the Fall Illini Classic are season's best for the junior from Castle Rock, Colorado.
Miclaus recorded three first-place finishes in addition to placing second four times and fourth once this month. This past weekend he placed first in both the 200 butterfly (1:53.82) and as a member of the 200 medley relay (1:35.01) team at the Fall Illini Classic, he also added a second place in the 100 butterfly (51.19). At the Big 12 Relays on Oct. 11 he was a member of two second place relay teams (400 and 800 medley relays) and one fourth place team (200 medley relay). The following day, in a dual meet against Texas A&M, he had two individual event victories in both the 100 and 200 butterflys and added a second place as a member of the 200 medley relay team.
Watters showed no signs of being a freshman as he qualified for the NCAA Zone D Championships on the 1-meter board with a score of 295.25 in only his second collegiate dual meet. His score placed him first in the 1-meter and he added a second place in the 3-meter board with a score of 303.20 at the Fall Illini Classic. He teamed up with senior Jamie Sweeney to take first in the 1-meter diving relay at the Big 12 Relays. Against Texas A&M he placed fourth in the 3-meter and fifth in the 1-meter respectively.