Buckeyes Dominate Big Ten Weekly Awards
10/3/2018 2:30:42 PM | Men's Swim & Dive
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State swimming & diving swept the Big Ten weekly honors with Ruslan Gaziev earning Swimmer and Freshman of the Week and freshman Jacob Fielding garnering Diver of the Week, the conference office announced on Wednesday. The awards mark the first for both Gaziev and Fielding.
Ohio State sweeps the Big Ten weekly awards for the first time since Nov. 26, 2013, when Connor McDonald earned Swimmer of the Week, Christian Holstein took Diver of the Week and Matt McHugh was named Freshman of the Week.
Both Gaziev and Fielding were dominant in their first meet as Buckeyes, helping the squad to a 156-144 win over Alabama on Sept. 27 to open the season.
Gaziev, a native of Toronto, Ontario, won his first two individual races in the Scarlet and Gray with a 50 Free time of 20.19 and 100 Free time of 43.79. He then improved his 100 Free time with a 43.40 split in the 400 Free Relay as the leadoff leg, posting an NCAA B Cut and guiding the quartet to a second-place finish. The freshman finished off the night as the anchor leg in the 400 Medley Relay, taking third with a 43.91 split. Both of Gaziev’s times hold up as first in the nation.
Fielding took the title on the 1 meter board with a score of 363.83 and placed second on the 3 meter with a mark of 413.78, just 0.07 away from the first-place finisher, teammate Jacob Siler. The Los Angeles, Calif., native was part of a Buckeye diving contingent that swept the top three spots on both the men and women’s sides, contributing major points for Ohio State. Fielding’s 1 meter score is the best in the nation, and his 3 meter is second only to Siler. Both of Fielding’s scores are NCAA zone-qualifying marks.
Ohio State is back in action next weekend, hosting Texas A&M and Louisville on Oct. 12-13 at McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
