NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – La Salle’s Fabian Bergman was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Swimming and Diving Performer of the Week while Davidson’s Elise Lankiewicz and Fordham’s Wendy Espina-Esquivel were named the Women’s Co-Performers for the week. Also honored was Davidson freshman Crossan Cooper, who was named the Men’s Rookie of the Week and Fordham freshman Amelia Bullock who was named the Women’s Rookie of the Week. The awards were based off performances from meets held Oct. 24-30.
Bergman helped the Explorers to two wins over A-10 opponents Saint Louis and St. Bonaventure this weekend with wins in the 100 backstroke (51.86) and 200 backstroke (1:51.79). The junior from Stockholm, Sweden, also helped the team win the 400 medley relay and 400 free relay, totalling four first place finishes.
For the fourth straight meet, Davidson senior standout Elise Lankiewicz, a two-time A-10 Performer of the Year, went undefeated, pulling in four first-place finishes and continuing to down her competition by wide margins. In the 1,000 freestyle (10:06.63), the Wilmington, Del., native finished 16 seconds ahead of second-place, and came in four seconds ahead in the 500 free (4:58.21) and seven ahead in the 200 free (1:52.11). Lankiewicz, was joined by classmate Erica Clancy, sophomore Maggie Farrell, and fellow senior Kassie Shannon to take the top time (3:33.92) in the 400 free relay. She has yet to drop an individual event, taking first in each event she has swam this season. Her time in the 500 free replaces herself for a new league-best, and she now ranks first in the A-10 in the 1000 free, shattering the old time by 21 seconds. Lankiewicz ranks in the top three in every event she has swam this season, holding the top times in the 200 free, 500 free, and 1,000.
Espina-Esquivel had a very successful weekend on the diving boards, winning both events at the Fairfield/Monmouth tri-meet on Friday, as well as the meet against Boston University on Saturday. The native from Santiago, Chile, won the one-meter dive on Friday night with a school record score of 298.50, while taking the three-meter event with a score of 275.33. On Saturday, she bettered that school record on the one-meter board with a total of 308.92, good for an NCAA Zone "A" diving qualifying score, while winning the three-meter board event with a score of 295.57. The junior diver has now posted Zone "A" diving qualifiers in both the one-meter and three-meter boards.
Cooper continued her stellar rookie campaign, taking home three firsts and sweeping his only events of the weekend in a dual meet with Georgetown. His 9:45.35 mark in the 1,000 freestyle was the seventh-best in program history. His 2:08.86 clip in the 200 breast was the best mark on the team this season and catapulted him to third in the conference in the event. He finished the day also taking the top prize in the 200 IM (1:57.51). The Scottsboro, Ala. native, remains undefeated in the 1000 freestyle this season, and has not recorded a place lower than third in each of his four meets this season. The freshman currently posts the third fastest mark in the Atlantic 10 in the 1000 free, third in the 200 breast, and tenth in the 200 IM.
Bullock was a multi-event winner against Boston University on Saturday, winning the 100 (56.07) and 200 (2:03.46) butterfly events. The freshman from Westport, Conn., was also a part of the winning 200 medley relay on Saturday in 1:46.67. On Friday against Monmouth and Fairfield, Bullock was second in the 50 freestyle (25.10) and fourth in the 100 freestyle (54.28). She also was a part of the winning 200 medley relay on Friday in 1:48.15.