Gonzalez De Oliveira Earns Second NAIA Swimmer of the Month Accolades
A week after being named the Mid-South Conference Swimmer of the Year, Patriots sophomore Ruben Gonzalez de Oliveira etched another accolade to his resume as he was named the NAIA Swimmer of the Month for February, the national office announced Friday. It marks the second time this season that Gonzalez de Oliveira has garnered this national recognition.
The Madrid, Spain native won all three of his individual events, while being a part of two winning relays for the Patriots at the Mid-South Conference Championship. He opened the championship by taking top honors in the 50 free, touching the wall in 20.96. Gonzalez de Oliveira capped off the opening day of the championship as part of UC’s winning 200 free relay team that earned gold after clocking a time of 1:23.44.
Gonzalez de Oliveira followed that up with wins in both the 200 free and the 100 free. The sophomore went 1:39.38 in the prelims of the 200 free to achieve an “A” cut and post the second fastest time in the NAIA this season. In the finals, he edged out the competition and finished in 1:39.78 to earn his second individual conference title of the meet. Gonzalez de Oliveira capped of his individual events by pulling away from the field and winning the 100 free with a time of 45.30.
The sophomore was also part of Cumberlands winning 400 free relay that went a new school record time of 3:02.81.
Gonzalez de Oliveira became just the third Patriot swimmer to be named MSC Swimmer of the Year. He was a critical part of Cumberlands capturing their fifth straight Mid-South Conference team title.
UC will return to their pool March 1-4 when they travel to Columbus, GA to compete at the NAIA National Championships, which are set for March 1-4 in Columbus, GA.
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