#HLSD Honors

INDIANAPOLIS—Oakland’s Jorden Merrilees (Brisbane, Australia) and Kyra Rietveld (Zuidhorn, Netherlands) have been named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Swimmers of the Week while Milwaukee’s K.J. Heger (Rockford, Ill.) and Oakland’s Tricia Grant (West Bloomfield, Mich.) have been named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Divers of the Week for the week of Jan. 21-27.

Merrilees led the Golden Grizzlies in the pool in a dual meet against Big Ten foe Michigan State, winning three individual races to earn his second League honor this season. He placed first in the 200-freestyle in a time of 1:39.11, won the 200-backstroke with a time of 1:50.07 and led the pack in the 200-individual medley finishing with a time of 1:51.88. Two days later against Xavier and Cleveland State, Merrilees won the 1000-freestyle after swimming the event for the first time this season posting a time of 9:21.56 to rank fastest in the Horizon League this year and 60th nationally. He matched that performance with a win in the 500-freestyle, swimming it in a time of 4:34.60.

Rietveld competed in two backstroke events for Oakland against Michigan State, winning the 200-backstroke with a time of 2:07.83 and placing second in the 100-backstroke in a time of 57.25. While taking on Xavier and Cleveland State, she swept her individual events with a first-place finish in the 100-backstroke swimming it in a time of 56.60 to post the third-fastest Oakland time this season. Rietveld rounded out the meet with a win in the 200-backstroke posting a time of 2:05.44.

For the second-straight week and sixth time this season, Heger earned League honors on the 1-meter and 3-meter diving boards for Milwaukee. At the UIC Diving Invite, he nearly broke his own school record on the 3-meter posting a winning score of 371.80. To complete his sweep of the diving events, Heger won on the 1-meter board with a score of 321.25. The UIC Diving Invite marks the sixth time this year Heger has swept first-place finishes on both boards.

Grant recorded her sixth League diving honor this season with her performances on the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. Against Michigan State, she placed first in the 1-meter with a score of 282.53 and second in the 3-meter posting a score of 284.48. Taking on Xavier and Cleveland State, Grant swept the diving events for the seventh time this year. She led the pack in the 1-meter with a score of 296.10 and won on the 3-meter board tallying a score of 338.03.

The Milwaukee men’s team remains at home for its next two meets welcoming Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 31 and Green Bay Saturday, Feb. 1 at Noon EST. Oakland dives back into the water Saturday, Feb. 1 when it travels to Indianapolis, Ind. for a dual meet against IUPUI at 11 a.m. EST.

2013-14 Horizon League Men’s Swimmer of the Week
Oct. 15: Jorden Merrilees, Oakland
Oct. 22: Clement Quilliec, Wright State
Oct. 29: Kei Ishimaru, UIC
Nov. 5: Clement Quilliec, Wright State
Nov. 12: Kenny Stelpflug, Milwaukee
Nov. 19: Alex Lewis, Cleveland State
Dec. 3: Amr el Sayed, Oakland
Jan. 7: Kei Ishimaru, UIC
Jan. 14: Willem Poelmans, Green Bay
Jan. 21: Jorden Merrilees, Oakland

2013-14 Horizon League Women’s Swimmer of the Week
Oct. 15: Emily McClellan, Milwaukee
Oct. 22: Parker Wolf, Green Bay
Oct. 29: Natalie Johnson, Milwaukee
Nov. 5: Karin Tomeckova, Oakland
Nov. 12: Anna Yontz, Milwaukee
Nov. 19: Natalie Neuwirth, Green Bay
Dec. 3: Emily McClellan, Milwaukee
Jan. 7: Parker Wolf, Green Bay
Jan. 14: Rowan Elbadry, Cleveland State
Jan. 21: Kyra Rietveld, Oakland

2013-14 Horizon League Men’s Diver of the Week
Oct. 15: K.J. Heger, Milwaukee
Oct. 22: K.J. Heger, Milwaukee
Oct. 29: K.J. Heger, Milwaukee
Nov. 12: Danny Roberts, Cleveland State
Nov. 19: Danny Roberts, Cleveland State
Dec. 3: K.J. Heger, Milwaukee
Jan. 7: Mark Ciesielski, UIC
Jan. 14: K.J. Heger, Milwaukee
Jan. 21: K.J. Heger, Milwaukee

2013-14 Horizon League Women’s Diver of the Week
Oct. 15: Tricia Grant, Oakland
Oct. 22: Tricia Grant, Oakland
Oct. 29: Tricia Grant, Oakland
Nov. 5: Samantha Sposet, Cleveland State
Nov. 12: Tricia Grant, Oakland
Nov. 19: Whitney Johnson, UIC
Dec. 3: Tricia Grant, Oakland
Jan. 7: Whitney Johnson, UIC
Jan. 14: Rachel Margis, Milwaukee
Jan. 21: Tricia Grant, Oakland