BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Elizaveta Klevanovich, Maston Ballew and Emily Hallifax all played integral roles in Auburn’s third-place finish at THE Dual Meet Tournament over the weekend. The trio has all picked up SEC weekly honors for their efforts, the conference announced Tuesday.
Klevanovich has been named SEC Women’s Swimmer of the Week, Ballew was named Men’s Freshman of the Week and Hallifax was awarded Women’s Diver of the Week.
As part of a first-of-its-kind event in Atlanta, head coach Ryan Wochomurka and the Tigers navigated past Minnesota and Florida State at historic McCauley Aquatic Center en route to their third-place finish.
Klevanovich, a graduate from Tyumen, Russia swam in nine events between Friday and Saturday, winning all nine. The sprinter set the tone from the opening race, going 21.92 in the opening leg of the 200 free relay. Klevanovich would hit the wall under 22 seconds two more times throughout the weekend. Her 22.88 jumps Klevanovich to No. 6 on the program’s all-time performer list.
In an abbreviated format, Hallifax had to make the most of her opportunities on the boards. The Olympian from France dialed up an impressive 154.20 on the 3-meter to earn the victory against Georgia and an even more enticing 154.20 on the 1-meter to capture the victory against Florida State.
Freshman Maston Ballew burst onto the scene in just his second meet as a Tiger. Ballew was part of winning relay efforts against both Minnesota and Florida State. However, it was his 1:54.98 in the 200 breast that drew the most attention. The time vaults the Nashville, Tennessee, product to No. 9 on the program’s all-time performer list. He would also grab a personal best in the 200 IM at 1:46.68.
The honors are the first of the season for Auburn and the first for Klevanovich, Ballew and Hallifax.