ROSEMONT, Ill. – A sweep of the freestyle sprints and a 62-point victory on 3-meter helped earn Big Ten weekly honors for Purdue men's swimming & diving's most recent Olympians, Nikola Aćin and Tyler Downs.
Downs became the first men's diver in the league this season to be a two-time Big Ten Diver of the Week. Aćin claimed his first career Big Ten Swimmer of the Week award, becoming the Boilermakers' first such honoree since two-time Big Ten champion Marat Amaltdinov in November 2016. Steele Johnson was simultaneously named Diver of the Week five years ago, marking the Purdue men's last sweep of the swimmer and diver honors from the league office.
In Purdue's triple dual vs. No. 6 Michigan and No. 14 Missouri, Aćin posted top 10 times nationally while winning the 50 and 100 free. He also swam the anchor leg on the Boilermakers' top 200 medley and 400 free relays, both quartets posting top-10 times in program history.
The 400 free team of Nick Sherman, Brady Samuels, Idris Muhammad and Aćin moved into fourth place in the record book while the 200 medley team of Michael Juengel, Khadin Soto, Samuels and Aćin now ranks eighth in team history. Aćin had the fastest splits of any swimmer in both relays.
Downs posted his fourth event victory of the young season, registering a 400-point list (416.40) for the third time this season and second time on 3-meter. He was also the runner-up to Jordan Rzepka on 1-meter. The Boilermakers had three of the top five finishers in both springboard events.
Downs joins Steven LoBue, David Colturi, David Boudia, Steele Johnson and Greg Duncan as Boilermakers to win Big Ten Diver of the Week at least twice prior to Thanksgiving.
The Boilermakers are idle from competition this weekend as they continue to gear up for the three-day, six-session Purdue Invitational at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center. Purdue will host Louisville, Northwestern, Missouri State, McKendree, FIU (women), Illinois State (women), Navy (men's swimmers) and Indiana State (women's divers) the weekend of Nov. 18 to 20.
Downs became the first men's diver in the league this season to be a two-time Big Ten Diver of the Week. Aćin claimed his first career Big Ten Swimmer of the Week award, becoming the Boilermakers' first such honoree since two-time Big Ten champion Marat Amaltdinov in November 2016. Steele Johnson was simultaneously named Diver of the Week five years ago, marking the Purdue men's last sweep of the swimmer and diver honors from the league office.
In Purdue's triple dual vs. No. 6 Michigan and No. 14 Missouri, Aćin posted top 10 times nationally while winning the 50 and 100 free. He also swam the anchor leg on the Boilermakers' top 200 medley and 400 free relays, both quartets posting top-10 times in program history.
The 400 free team of Nick Sherman, Brady Samuels, Idris Muhammad and Aćin moved into fourth place in the record book while the 200 medley team of Michael Juengel, Khadin Soto, Samuels and Aćin now ranks eighth in team history. Aćin had the fastest splits of any swimmer in both relays.
| NIKOLA AĆIN'S TIMES AT THE TRIPLE DUAL | |||
| Event | Time | National Rank | Big Ten Rank |
| 50 Free | 19.53 | 3rd | 1st |
| 100 Free | 43.34 | 8th | 2nd |
| 200 Medley Relay | 1:26.88 Aćin 50 Split: 19.14 |
18th | 4th |
| 400 Free Relay | 2:53.59 Aćin 100 Split: 42.30 |
6th | 2nd |
Downs posted his fourth event victory of the young season, registering a 400-point list (416.40) for the third time this season and second time on 3-meter. He was also the runner-up to Jordan Rzepka on 1-meter. The Boilermakers had three of the top five finishers in both springboard events.
Downs joins Steven LoBue, David Colturi, David Boudia, Steele Johnson and Greg Duncan as Boilermakers to win Big Ten Diver of the Week at least twice prior to Thanksgiving.
The Boilermakers are idle from competition this weekend as they continue to gear up for the three-day, six-session Purdue Invitational at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center. Purdue will host Louisville, Northwestern, Missouri State, McKendree, FIU (women), Illinois State (women), Navy (men's swimmers) and Indiana State (women's divers) the weekend of Nov. 18 to 20.