PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Louisville senior Pedro Oliveira and freshman Tanja Killiainen have been selected BIG EAST Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Athletes of the Week.
Oliveira recorded two individual wins and NCAA provisional cuts and in a meet victory over interstate rival Kentucky on Feb. 3. In the 200-yard butterfly, he finished in 1:47.49, four seconds ahead of the field. Oliveira also won the 200 back with a time of 1:45.79, touching the wall six seconds before the second-place finisher. He provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship in both events, and helped the Cardinals win 24 of 28 races over the Wildcats while being honored on Senior Day.
Killiainen led the Cardinals with two individual victories in the 200 fly and the 200 IM and notched two NCAA provisional cuts in a win over Kentucky. In the butterfly event, she recorded a time of 1:58.27, finishing five seconds ahead of the competition. Killiainen followed with a 2:02.43 time in the 200 IM, finishing three seconds before the next swimmer. Both event times have provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships March 15-17 in Auburn, Ala.
This is the first 2012 weekly award of the season for both Oliveira and Killiainen
BIG EAST swimming and diving has officially concluded its regular-season component of the schedule. The BIG EAST diving championships will take place Feb. 10-12 and the swimming championships will take place Feb. 15-18, both in Pittsburgh, Pa.
