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News Release

UMBC Swimming and Diving Sweeps Weekly Swimming Awards for Third Week; Kutt, Kaplanova Honored

1/30/2008

Sophomore Tereza Kaplanova was named the America East Women's Swimming Performer of the Week.

Sophomore Rasmus Kutt is undefeated in the 200 back this season.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—The UMBC swimming and diving teams have swept the weekly conference swimming awards for the third time this season as sophomores Rasmus Kutt (Tallinn, Estonia/Gustav Adolf Gymnazium) and Tereza Kaplanova (Prague, Czech Republic/J.G. Jarkovskeho) earned the respective Men’s and Women’s Swimming Performer of the Week awards for the week ending Jan. 28, the conference announced Tuesday.

Kutt won the award for the second week in a row after leading Retriever sweeps in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes in UMBC’s win over Marist last Saturday.  Kutt swam times of 55.28 and 1:55.92, respectively and also led-off the second-place relay which swam a time of 1:37.23, just five one-hundredths of a second behind the Retrievers’ winning relay team.

The sophomore, and last year’s Most Outstanding Male Rookie, finishes the dual meet season undefeated in the 200 backstroke and added his ninth consecutive victory in the event with Saturday’s win.  Kutt has also claimed victory in the 100 back six times this season and placed second just once for the year, to junior teammate Milos Djukic (Novi Sad, Serbia/Svetozar Markovic).

The defending America East champion and America East Championship record-holder in the 100 back and runner-up in the 200 back, Kutt holds the conference’s fastest times in both events this year and looks poised to claim individual titles at the conference championships in three weeks.

Kaplanova picks up her first award of the season after earning four victories in the Retrievers’ win over Marist last Saturday.  The sophomore led a sweep of the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:22.63, took the 100 back in 1:01.25, and also swam legs on the winning 200 freestyle (1:41.22) and 200 medley (1:51.70) relays.

Boston University’s Andre Watson picked up the only other weekly award for Men’s Diving Performer of the Week.

The Retrievers have now combined for 13 weekly awards, with juniors Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/Msgr. Paul Dwyer) and Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School), freshmen Brad Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) and Crystal Gall (Balgonie, Saskatchewan, Canada/Dr. Martin LeBoldus), and Kutt accounting for two each, and freshmen Seth McNew (Lakewood, Colo./Lakewood), Kaplanova and former Retriever Mike Morabito each earning one award.