LEXINGTON, Ky.? Junior Jenny Bradford has been named the NCAA National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week as announced today by CollegeSwimming.com. Bradford was chosen by a panel of collegiate coaches, sports information directors, conference representatives and CollegeSwimming.com staffers.
Bradford had a weekend to remember at the Nike Cup, winning three events, breaking two University of Kentucky records, and setting a Maurice J. Koury pool record to lead the Wildcats in Chapel Hill, N.C.
?I?m really pleased with this recognition for Jenny,? said Coach Gary Conelly. ?She had just a really incredible meet and swam the 50-free in 22.09 which was a personal best. The fact that she is swimming this fast at this point in the season, I think she is on track to have an outstanding year. She has solidified herself as one of the premier swimmers in the nation.?
Bradford topped the field on the first night of competition as she won the 50-freestyle in a time of 22.09. The mark was a personal best and became a new UK record. Adding to the accolades to kick-start the meet the time became a new Maurice J. Koury pool record.
On Friday night, she continued her domination taking the 100-butterfly in a time of 53.74. Bradford?s time was good enough for a new personal-best and the No. 1 slot on UK?s all-time top-10 list.
Concluding her weekend, Bradford claimed gold in the 100-freestyle. Her time of 49.12 was good enough for a NCAA ?A? cut, automatically qualifying her for the Championships in March. The ?A? cut was the third in three nights for the junior from Groveport, Ohio.
?This is really a nice thing for our program because it will help us gain some national attention,? said Conelly. ?However, this honor really speaks volumes for Jenny?s abilities and hard effort. It is nice for us, but it?s really better for her.? Collegeswimming.com awards swimmers from all three NCAA Divisions for both men and women. This was the first nomination for Bradford.
Bradford and the Wildcats return to action December 2, when they host Vanderbilt. It will be the first home meet of the season for the blue and white.
