Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Swimming & Diving Sweeps MVC Weekly Awards
11/27/2002 | 12:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
Nov. 27, 2002
St. Louis, Mo. - Southern Illinois University sophomores Marcelo Possato and Devin Aikins swept the Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer and Diver of the Week awards respectively on Wednesday, November 27.
Possato broke the Southern Illinois record in the 200-yard backstroke on Sunday at the Northwestern Invitational. His time of 1:47.49 is the best in the MVC this season. Possato broke the SIU record of 1:47.51, set by Matt Munz in 2001.
Possato also won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.10, also the fastest time in the MVC this season. He also swam the lead leg for SIU in the 200 and 400-yard medley relays, leading the Salukis to third place finishes. The relay times of 1:34.28 (200 medley) and 3:26.10 (400 medley) respectively are the best in the Valley this season.
His two wins led SIU (904) to a second-place team finish, falling just 16 points behind Northwestern (920) and beating No. 24 SMU (900). He pulled off the effort with SIU's Brent Menghini, an all-Missouri Valley Conference performer, sitting out due to injury. Possato, a two-time winner (10/29) of the MVC Swimmer of the Week award, is a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Aikins won the men's diving award for the second straight week. He finished second in the 3-meter competition with 446.35 points at the Northwestern Invitational. His score is the best in the MVC this year. The sophomore from York, Penn., also finished fourth on the 1-meter board with a score of 275.65.
The SIU men will be back in the pool on January 18 at the Rec Center Pool for a dual meet against Western Kentucky on January 18.
