University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Collect Three B1G Weekly Honors
11/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Minnesota's Matt Barnard, Michael Messner and Yu Zhou were recognized by the Big Ten Conference on Wednesday after their performances in Iowa City last Friday. Barnard and Zhou were each named B1G Diver of the Week for the fourth time this season, while Messner was tabbed B1G Co-Freshman of the Week with Penn State's Bossier. The three Gophers each swept their respective events, totaling six first-place finishes for the Gophers.
Zhou earned the highest scores in both the women's 1-meter and 3-meter events in Iowa City. Zhou collected 338.55 points on the 1-meter board for first, and topped the 3-meter competition with a total of 392.25 points. Each score was a season best. Zhou has now been named B1G Diver of the week seven times, most recently on Oct. 21, 2015.
Barnard completed another diving sweep for the men, notching first-place marks in the 1-meter and 3-meter events. Barnard earned 378.60 points through six rounds of diving for gold on the 1-meter, and was followed by teammates Manny Pollard and Dylan Zoe. His score of 398.93 points led the 3-meter pack. Barnard has gone four-for-four in B1G Diver of the Week honors this season, earning the award after every competition so far for Minnesota. His last honor included two pool record-breaking performances at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium on Oct. 21, 2015.
Messner posted gold finishes in both distance freestyle events against the Hawkeyes. He led the 1650-yard freestyle field with a time of 15:46.35-currently the tenth fastest time in the nation. He also led the 500 free with a 4:33.59. This is Messner's first conference honor. The last Golden Gopher to be named B1G Freshman of the Week was Hunter Doerr on Oct. 14, 2015.
The University of Minnesota is scheduled to face the University of North Dakota this Saturday, Nov. 7. The meet is will start at 11:00 a.m. in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Players Mentioned
