Zhang and Handley receive conference honors

SIU Freshman swimmer Kelsie Walker high fives teammate Bryn Handley on Wednesday at the Edward J. Shea Natatorium during the first day of the MVC Swimming and Diving Championships. The Salukis finished in the 800 Yard Freestyle Relay with 40 points and a time of 7:18.77.

By Evan Jones, @EvanJones_DE
February 21, 2016

After the SIU women’s swimming and diving team captured its first Missouri Valley Conference title since 2007 Saturday, sophomore Bryn Handley and senior Sherry Zhang received awards from the conference.

Handley was given the Elite 18 award, which recognizes athletes with the highest GPA in each event.

Zhang received the Diver of the Year award for the third straight year. Zhang won the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. She has won the 3-meter dives in all four years and the 1-meter the past three years.

SIU Leadership and Service Week 2024. Recognizing National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Events from November 15th through 21st.

Handley holds a 4.0 cumulative GPA and studies behavioral analysis and therapy. She won the 1650-yard freestyle event with a time of 16:37.5, was a member of the 800-yard freestyle team that set a new pool record of 7:16.6 and swam anchor for the 400-yard freestyle relay team that finished .14 seconds behind Northern Iowa. The second-place finish secured the team title for the Salukis.

“Honestly we wanted to race and have fun,” Handley said Saturday. “That’s what we’ve been doing all year and that’s what got us here.”

Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected] or at (618) 536-3304