Patton Named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week
12/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- Senior Matt Patton (Matthews, N.C. / Butler) of the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan men's swimming and diving team was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week on Tuesday (Dec. 9) after his performance helped the Wolverines to the college-division crown at the USA Swimming Short Course Nationals last weekend (Dec. 4-6).
Patton took first-place honors in a pair of events at the meet, the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle. Patton posted NCAA 'A' times in both events, taking the top spot in the 500 in 4:12.80 and touching the wall first in the 1,650 with a time of 14:50.34. He was also a member of the U-M 800-yard freestyle relay team that earned top honors. Patton swam the anchor leg on the first-place relay that also met the NCAA 'A' standard with a time of 6:20.86. In addition, Patton took second in the 200-yard freestyle with an NCAA consideration time of 1:34.98.
The weekly honor is the second for Patton in his U-M career; he was previously named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week on Dec. 4, 2007. This is the third time this season a Michigan swimmer received weekly accolades from the Big Ten Conference. Sophomore Tyler Clary(Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) earned Big Ten honors on Oct. 21 and junior Andr Schultz(Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Palmares) received the weekly laurels on Nov. 5.
Patton and the Wolverines will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009, when they compete in the Orange Bowl Classic in Key Largo, Fla.
Contact: Jeremy Reid (734) 763-4423
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