University of Massachusets Athletics
Downing, Meho Earn A-10 Weekly Honors
November 25, 2009 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Nov. 25, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - Sophomore Chelsea Downing (Falmouth, Mass.) was named Atlantic-10 Performer of the Week while teammate Amina Meho (Burlington, Mass.) was named Rookie of the Week as announced by the Atlantic-10 on Tuesday. The pair led the UMass women's swim team to a third-place finish at the Terrier Invitational over the weekend, combining to break three school records and helping the squad to a total of 514 points in the three-day meet.
Downing had an outstanding weekend, breaking two longstanding UMass school records. The sophomore shattered the 500 freestyle record on Friday, swimming a 4:58.58, to break the previous record of 5:01.17 that was set back in 1995. The Falmouth, Mass. native broke another 14-year old record on Sunday, this time in the 1650 freestyle, swimming a 17:10.78 to break the old record by almost two seconds. Between the two records, Downing also sandwiched in a fifth-place finish in the 400 IM, swimming a 4:31.59.
Meho played a major role in the Minutewomen third-place finish, helping the team score in six different events. The freshman started the weekend by breaking the UMass school record in the 50 freestyle with a blistering time of 23.55 to take sixth-place in the event. Meho then put a close to the weekend in the 100 freestyle, finishing fourth with a time of 51.76. The Burlington, Mass native was an integral part of four different relay teams, swimming the anchor leg in every relay during the weekend. Meho helped the 200 free, 800 free and 400 medley teams to third-place finishes, while assisting the 200 medley to fourth.
The Minutewomen will be back in action on Dec. 5 when they travel to Northeastern.
