Nov. 1, 2007
NORMAL , Ill. -
Illinois State diver, senior Katie Janonis, has been named Missouri Valley Conference Diver of the Week for the second week in a row and senior Kathleen Borkovec has been named Valley Swimmer of the Week. Janonis and former Redbird swimmer Rebekah Layman swept the swimming and diving awards last season after stand-out performances at the SummaCare Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
Borkovec had outstanding performances over the weekend, leading ISU to a first-place finish at home against Evansville. Individually, Borkovec finished first in the 100-yard freestyle with a season-best time of 53:53 seconds, placing her second overall in the Valley. She also won the 200-yard freestyle with a final tally of 1:56.77, placing second overall in the MVC. She finished the evening off as the second leg in an exhibition heat in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:36.25. In addition to being ranked second overall in the Valley in both the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyles, she also currently ranks fifth in the 50 freestyle.
Head coach Steve Paska felt honored to receive these awards.
"There were a few notable nominations this week," said Paska. "It is a great honor to have two student-athletes win the awards. Katie (Borkovec) performed her season-best at the dual meet over the weekend. She exemplifies the type of swimmer that can compete at this level. She wants her senior year to be the best and has the mindset to do whatever it takes to achieve that. She is a team player , swimming any events that we need her to and earned this award through her tremendous work ethic from the beginning of the season."
Janonis won both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards over the weekend at Evansville. She led the Redbirds in the diving events, with a final score of 220.35 on the 1-meter board and 233.10 on the 3-meter. She currently leads the Valley on the 1-meter board and is second overall on the 3-meter board.
Head diving coach Phil Hoffmann felt it was meaningful for Janonis to receive the award again.
"It is a good reward for how her season has started," said Hoffmann. "It is so meaningful this week because we competed against a member of the Valley. I look forward for her to build on her success and carry it throughout the rest of the season."
Borkovec and Janonis join the rest of the Illinois State swimmers and divers to play host to Western Illinois Friday at Horton Pool at 6 p.m. The Redbirds will then travel to Butler with Youngstown State Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
