Feb. 11, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern University junior Tony Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids) has been named the Big Ten Male Swimmer of the Week. It is the second such honor for Swanson in his career and the first time a Wildcat men's swimmer has earned the award this season.
The award comes almost exactly one year after his first Swimmer of the Week honor (Feb. 12, 2002), and for a performance against the same school (Iowa). Swanson earned his current honor after winning three individual events and being a member of two winning relay squads during NU's 196-153 victory over Iowa last weekend.
He broke his own Norris Aquatics Center pool record in winning the 200 individual medley in a time of 1:49.04. The time is an NCAA "B" cut standard. Swanson trimmed 42-hundreths of a second off his previous mark. He also swept the backstroke titles, winning the 100 in an NU season-best time of 49.53 and the 200 in 1:48.43. Swanson holds Northwestern's top times of the season in all three events.
He also contributed to team season-best performances in all four relays that he participated in during the meet. Northwestern finished first in two of the relays, capturing the 400 medley (3:18.81) and 400 freestyle (3:01.72) titles.
The victory over Iowa concluded Northwestern's dual meet season with a record of 5-7 overall and 1-5 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats are off from competition until they compete in the Big Ten Championship in Ann Arbor, Mich. from Feb. 27-March 1. Swanson is the defending Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships.