Nogaj Named Women's Swimmer of the Week
MAC Women's Swimmer of the Week
Paulina Nogaj, Akron
Junior - Radom, Poland/Polish Swimming Federation
Nogaj is coming off a stellar weekend in the Zippy Invitational, finishing first in seven events and breaking a new MAC and meet record in the process. She began by swimming an impressive time of 22.67 in her initial leg of the 200 freestyle relay, helping guide Akron to a first-place finish in that event, the first of the invitational. She followed that up with an even more impressive performance in the 200 IM, touching the wall at (1:59.03), earning a B-cut time with her finish. Later on in the 400 medley Relay, she swam the final leg and had the second fastest individual time in that race, leading her and her teammates to yet another win in a relay event. She followed that up with another B-cut time in the 100 fly, finishing first, touching the wall at 52.45. After placing first in the 200 freestyle (1:47.79), she would next participate in her best swim of the year so far. With a strong time of 1:56.49 in the 200 butterfly, she was able to shatter both the MAC and the meet record and record her individual fastest time in that respective race. In her final event of the evening, the 400 freestyle relay, she swam the initial leg with a speedy time of 49.33, guiding Akron to one of many relay victories throughout the competition.
Other Nominees
Kayleigh Cannon, Miami
Junior - Naperville, Illinois/Neuqua Valley
At the Miami Invitational, Kayleigh Cannon became the first female swimmer in program history to finish the 200 fly in less than two minutes. She won the 200 fly (1:59.68), breaking a school record set eight years ago. Cannon also swam on the winning 400 medley relay team (3:44.03), in which her 100 fly split (54.57) was more than one second faster than any other 100 fly swimmer. She finished third in the 100 fly (55.14), posting the team's fastest time in that event this season. Cannon also competed in the 200 medley relay (1:45.42) and the 200 IM (2:08.84), swimming personal season-best times in both. She ranks fourth in the MAC (and top 100 nationally) in the 200 fly and 10th in the 100 fly while the 400 medley relay ranks second.
Casey Gavigan, Eastern Michigan
Senior - East Setauket, New York/Ward Melville
Casey Gavigan had a productive showing at the Denison Invitational for the Eagles, earning two wins as well as an Olympic qualifying mark. The senior is Omaha bound for Olympic team time trials in the 100-meter backstroke after a 1:02.11 showing during long course time trials. In addition, the New York native added two wins to her weekend accomplishments, taking the top spot in both the preliminary and final round of the 200 back. Her 1:58.41 mark in prelims ranks fifth all-time in school history, while her finals performance of 1:57.94 stands fourth all-time.
Izzy Jones, Toledo
Junior - Ivinghoe, England/The Cottesloe School
Junior Izzy Jones set the school record in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2019 Toyota U.S. Open this weekend. Jones clocked a fast 1:03.51 in the event, crushing the previous record. Jones also made the B-final of the 200-meter backstroke, finishing 14th overall. Jones competed well in the 400-meter freestyle, touching the wall in 4:22.59.
