Minnesota boasts Swimmer, Diver of the Week

Two athletes on the Gophers swimming and diving team earned conference Player of the Week honors after strong performances last weekend, the Big Ten announced Tuesday.
Tess Behrens and Maggie Keefer received the honors for their parts in Minnesota’s 200-150 win over Michigan at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center over the weekend.
Behrens, a native of Maple Grove, Minn., was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week for the first time in her career after winning a meet-best five events against the Wolverines.
Behrens finished first in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke, and also earned wins in three relay events.
Keefer, a native of Stillwater, Minn., won Big Ten Diver of the Week after posting victories in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives.
Minnesota won 13 events — eight Friday and five Saturday — in its season-opener.
“We came out [Friday] with a lot of energy, we were ready to race and we had some awesome performances,” head coach Terry Nieszner said in a release Saturday.
First-place finishers for Minnesota on Saturday included Keefer (3-meter dive), Behrens (200-yard backstroke), Ashley Steenvoorden (500-yard freestyle) and Haley Spencer (200-yard breaststroke).
The Gophers’ 400-yard medley relay team of Behrens, Spencer, Becca Weiland and Jessica Plant also took first place Saturday.
Minnesota’s eight wins Friday set the tone for their weekend victory, as the Gophers stormed out to a 123-63 lead heading into Saturday.