OFFICIAL ECAC RELEASE / UNOFFICIAL NCAA PSYCH SHEET
DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has announced its weekly award winners for the week ending February 22 and Mount Holyoke College student-athlete Cathleen Pruden has been selected. The junior was named the Swimmer of the Week after a record-setting performance at last weekend's NEWMAC Championships.
A native of Raleigh, N.C., Pruden finished seventh or better in all seven events she competed at the 2015 NEWMAC Meet. She claimed victory in the 200-Individual Medley, shattering her own school record in both the prelims and the finals. During the morning session, she posted a time of 2:06.83, besting her mark of 2:06.98 that was set at last year's National Championship. In the evening finals, Pruden charged to victory with a time of 2:05.41. Both times were also NCAA B Cuts.
Pruden, who also swam in four relay events during the four-day long meet, then posted a time of 4:21.83 in the 400-IM during Saturday's finals, a mark that was not only a career-best and school record, but also the second-best time in Division III this season. The defending champion in the event, she also shattered the NEWMAC Meet record from 2014, when she posted a time of 4:25.03. Additionally, Pruden's time also eclipsed the NEWMAC Open record of 4:22.84, which she set last season at the NCAA National Championships.
The former Ravenscroft School standout then further added to her list of accomplishments in Sunday's event finals as she won the 1650-freestyle with a mark of 17:07.26. That time was not only an NCAA B Cut, but also a new school record, shattering her previous mark of 17:16.25 which was also set at Nationals last season. Additionally, Pruden's time was just one second shy of the NEWMAC Meet record (17:06.26) and is currently the 11th best time in Division III.
For her efforts at the NEWMAC Championships, of which she was one of just two athletes to post three individual victories, Pruden was named the conference's Swimmer of the Year. The first ever recipient of the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year Award from Mount Holyoke in 2013, Pruden also becomes the first MHC swimmer to garner top honors since the Swimmer of the Year Award was established in the NEWMAC in 1998.
This season, Pruden has won 37 events, notching at least two victories in every meet she has competed. Thirty-one of the 37 wins this season have been individual. In addition to re-setting multiple school records – of which she currently holds 14 – Pruden has also achieved nine NCAA B Cuts in four different events.
A four-time NEWMAC Swimmer of the Week as well, Pruden will now wait until the 2015 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships get underway on March 18-21 at the CISD Natatorium in Shenandoah, Texas. More information and details on her specific swims will be released soon.