Dec. 7, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. - Freshman men's swimmer Derek Hursch was honored on Monday by being named UMass Co-Athlete of the Week with women's basketball's Shakia Robinson. Hursch recorded two individual victories, including a pool record, and finished second in another event to lead the Minutemen to a 177-118 victory over Yale at the Joseph Rogers Pool on Saturday.

Hursch broke UMass' Joseph Rogers Pool record in the 200 free on Saturday with a time of 1:40.69, beating his nearest competitor by over four seconds. The freshman sensation from Rochelle Park, N.J. later recorded a first-place finish in the 200 IM, coming in 1-2 with fellow freshman Chris Inglis.

Hursch also recorded a second-place finish, coming in behind teammate Joey Sbordon in the 500 free with a time of 4:43.41.

The freshman owns the top 200 free and 400 IM times in the Atlantic 10 this season, as well as the second-best times in the conference in the 100 free and 200 IM.

Already this season, Hursch has been named A-10 Performer of the Week and A-10 Rookie of the Week one time each.

UMass is now 4-1 in dual meets on the season. The Minutemen will return to action in early January when they make their annual training trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico.