Five Vols/Lady Vols Earn SEC Weekly Recognition

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a double dual sweep and a successful stretch of diving invitationals, five Tennessee swimmers and divers earned SEC weekly honors for their recent performances, the league office announced Tuesday.

Anna-Julia Kutsch (Female Swimmer of the Week), Lyubomir Epitropov (Male Swimmer of the Week), Bryden Hattie (Male Co-Diver of the Week), Josephine Fuller (Female Freshman of the Week) and Jordan Crooks (Male Freshman of the Week) were the Vols and Lady Vols honored by the SEC.

Anna-Julia Kutsch – SEC Female Swimmer of the Week
Kutsch posted one of the top performances of her Lady Vol career to begin the new year, winning two individual races and helping two relay lineups to victories in a tri meet against Duke and Queens University.

The Birmingham, Alabama, native set the tone early by throwing down a 22.27 split on the 50 freestyle leg of the 200 medley relay. Tennessee trailed going into the final leg of the race, but Kutsch's time pushed the Lady Vols into the top spot.

During the individual races, the junior claimed the top spots in the 50 free (22.64) and 100 free (50.32), marking her first individual wins as a Lady Vol. Kutsch picked up her fourth victory on the day when UT capped the meet with a 1:31.60 time in the 200 free relay.

Lyubomir Epitropov – SEC Male Swimmer of the Week
Epitropov posted a pair of podium finishes to help pace the Vols to a tri meet sweep against the Blue Devils and Royals. The senior dominated the field in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:00.55, winning by more than two and a half seconds.

The Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria, native also placed second in the 100 breast (54.89), as the Vols took the top two spots in the race.

As the reigning SEC champ and Tennessee record holder in the event, Epitropov has won the 200 breast four times this season.

Bryden Hattie – SEC Male Co-Diver of the Week
Hattie won a combined three events between the Auburn Diving Invitational and the Tennessee Diving Invitational. He finished as the top points scorer (53.00) during UT's meet and was the second-highest scorer (51.00) during Auburn's invite.

The Victoria, British Columbia, native swept the platform event at both invites, posting scores of 419.50 and 388.40. The sophomore nearly swept the 3-meter, taking first at UT's invite with a mark 404.90 and finishing second (410.15) at the Auburn Diving Invite. Also at AU's meet, Hattie etched his name in the Tennessee record books during the 1-meter prelims, posting a personal-best 378.70 to rank eighth in program history.

On the year, Hattie has combined to win 11 events. This marks his second SEC Male Diver of the Week honor this season.

Josephine Fuller – SEC Female Freshman of the Week
Fuller accounted for three wins and a third-place finish to help the Lady Vols sweep Duke and Queens University. She opened the meet by leading off the 200 medley relay with a 25.50 split in the backstroke leg and helping the UT post the fastest time at 1:39.46. Fuller anchored UT's C team in the 200 free relay, which finished third with a time of 1:33.53.

The Richmond, Virginia, native swept the backstroke events, touching the wall in 53.99 in the 100 and 1:57.71 in the 200. The performance marked the first time she's swept the events this year.

Jordan Crooks – SEC Male Freshman of the Week
Crooks posted four podium finishes to help the Volunteers sweep Duke and Queens University and earn his second SEC Freshman Swimmer of the Week honor this year.

Already boasting the top time in the country among freshmen in the event, Crooks won the 100 freestyle with a mark of 43.66. The George Town, Cayman Islands, native followed the performance up by taking second in the 50 free with a time of 19.94.

In the relays, Crooks helped the Vols to a pair of second-place finishes in the 200 free relay (1:19.93) and the 200 medley relay (1:27.94). He recorded a 50 free split of 19.73 along with a backstroke split of 22.30 in the medley relay.

In total, Tennessee has received league-best 14 SEC weekly honors this season.

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University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jordan Crooks

Lyubomir Epitropov

Josephine Fuller

Bryden Hattie

Anna-Julia Kutsch

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