ROSEMONT, Ill. – Penn State women's swimmer Madison Murtagh claimed the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week honor for the third time this season, the conference office announced Wednesday afternoon.
The honor comes after a winning performance against Villanova over the weekend. The Nittany Lion women defeated the Wildcats 159-139 winning nine of the 16 events.
Murtagh led the women taking home first place in two events. She completed the 1000 freestyle in 10:11.95 and recorded a time of 4:55.64 for the 500 free.
The freshman is the first Penn Stater to earn the honor three times in one season. She first took home the title on Oct. 10 for her performance against Virginia where she earned a pair of top-three finishes. Her most recent honor came back on Jan. 16 after a double-dual meet at Navy where she took home a first-place finish in the 1000 free.
Murtagh is also one of only five Nittany Lions to have claimed the honor since it began in 2011. Current teammates Maddie Hart (2016-17), Jane Donahue (2017-18) and Marie Schobel (2018-19) are also previous Freshman of the Week honorees.
Next up the Penn State women travel to Bloomington, Ind. to face off against Big Ten opponents for the Big Ten Championships. Competition begins Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.
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 facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
A fundraiser has been launched to support freshman women's swimmer Nikolette Nolte and her family for costs associated with her leukemia treatment. Any surplus funds will be donated to THON and the Jessie Rees Foundation to help others facing pediatric cancer. Donate atgopsu.info/nikistrong
