ROSEMONT, Ill. - A Penn State trio team swept the Big Ten Women's Swimming and Diving weekly honors with senior captain Ally McHugh claiming the Swimmer of the Week, junior diver Christina Crowell earning Diver of the Week, and freshman swimmer Madison Murtagh receiving Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced Wednesday afternoon.
McHugh led both Penn State and the Big Ten in the 500 and 1000 freestyles for the week. She led the winning Nittany Lion trio in a sweep of the 1000 free over No. 7 Virginia, taking first place with a time of 9:52.54. McHugh led a second Penn State trio in the 500 free where she took second with a time of 4:51.23. With a time of 2:02.28 the senior captain claimed third in the 200 butterfly.
Murtagh earned a pair of top three finishes against UVA in her collegiate debut in both the 100 and 500 free completing both swims with times of 10:06.67 and 4:55.33, respectively.
Crowell neared zone scores during the meet with two top-three finishes. She took second in the 1-meter by earing 261.45 points and third in the 3-meter with 266.03 points.
These are all first-time Big Ten Honors for McHugh, Murtagh, and Crowell. Crowell is the first diver to take home the honor since senior Mackenzie Cornell won it in 2017. Murtagh is the first Penn State freshman to take home the honor since current junior Jane Donahue earned it in 2017. Maddie Hart was the last Nittany Lion to claim the swimmer of the week honor back in February.
Next for the Nittany Lions, George Washington visits McCoy Natatorium this Friday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m. for Penn State's first of two home meets in the 2018-19 season.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.