Jan. 23, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - On the heels of being named Big Ten Female Swimmer of the Week, Northwestern University junior swimmer Erica Rose (Cleveland, Ohio/Hawken School) has been named the CollegeSwimming.com National Female Swimmer of the Week.
Rose posted four first-place finishes in helping the Wildcats earn dual meet victories at Michigan State on Jan. 10 and Eastern Michigan on Jan. 11. She overcame a shoulder injury to record two victories in each meet.
Against Michigan State, Rose won the 1,000 freestyle (10:10.43), in addition to the 400 individual medley (4:29.11). She also finished second to teammate Vicky West (Redlands, Calif./Redlands) in the 500 free (5:03.84).
The following day against Eastern Michigan, Rose captured the 1000 free title by 10 seconds, touching the wall in a time of 10:16.73. She added a first-place finish in the 500 free (5:01.04) by six seconds and fell two-tenths of a second short of winning the 200 breaststroke (2:23.77).
Rose's Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honor was the first of her career and the first such honor for a Northwestern swimmer this season.
As of Jan. 15, she holds the nation's 31st-fastest time in the 400 individual medley (4:24.76) and the 35th-fastest time in the 1,000 freestyle (10:05.91). Rose has provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship meet in the 400 IM.
Northwestern takes its 6-3 dual meet record into a 1 p.m. Saturday showdown with 19th-ranked Michigan at the Norris Aquatics Center.