Seven Emory University student-athletes were recognized as University Athletic Association Athletes of the Week on Monday afternoon for their performance as announced by the conference office.
After an impressive run at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, seniors Pat Pema and Lucas Bumgarner earned men's swimming and men's diving honors while sophomore Ariana Khan earned women's diving honors. Sophomore Michael Burry earned the men's golf title and freshman Dean Kamenev earned his first title after being named men's tennis athlete of the week. Track and Field rounded out the awards with Audrey Johnson and Spencer Moore taking the women's and men's outdoor track title respectively.
Pema led the Emory Eagles to their second straight national championship this past weekend in Greensboro. Pema was a top-four finisher in all three individual events, winning the 500 Freestyle national championship, was the national runner-up in the 200 Freestyle and tied for fourth in the 100 Freestyle. As part of relays, Pema swam anchor on Emory's national record-setting 800 Freestyle Relay team and was part of both the 200 & 400 Freestyle relays that finished in third.
Khan became the first diver in Emory history to be named the CSCAA Diver of the Year as she helped the Eagles to a national runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships. Khan was the first Emory diving national champion in three decades, winning the 3-meter event and would go on to add a national runner-up finish in the 1-meter to round out her impressive week in Greensboro.
Bumgarner was the national runner-up in both diving events, helping Emory capture its second straight national championship this past weekend in Greensboro. Bumgarner posted a score of 520.50 in the 1-meter before a terrific performance in the 3-meter, recording 590.80 to earn silver.
Johnson showed off her speed across the weekend at the Emory Spring Break Invitational. Competing in the 100m dash, Johnson recorded a time of 12.07 seconds to finish in third place at the meet. Johnson's time of 12.07 seconds stands as the fastest time in Division III this season according to TFRRS. Johnson also competed as the anchor of the 4x100 relay team who recorded a time of 48.17 seconds, the third fastest time in the nation, to win the event.
Moore opened up the outdoor season with a set of stellar performances at the Emory Spring Break Classic. Moore began the weekend competing in the 3,000m steeplechase where he won the event, crossing the finish line in a time of 9:14.59. Moore's time stands as the seventh best time in program history and the best time in the nation in the early aughts of the season according to TFRRS. Moore followed that up with an event win as the anchor of the 4x800m relay team who won with a time of 7:54.10.
Burry was instrumental in helping lead the Eagles to a tournament win at the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational as he finished in second place overall with a score of seven-under par 209 (70-68-71). Burry finished the tournament with the second most birdies at 15 and also knocked in an eagle to bolster his tournament record. Burry's score helped the No. 3 Eagles take down some of the top competition in the country including the entirety of the top five teams which is made up of No. 1 Christopher Newport, No. 2 Methodist, No. 4 Piedmont and No. 5 Carnegie Mellon while also setting a team tournament record.
Kamenev went 3-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles as Emory went unbeaten in home matches against #10 Denison, Birmingham-Southern and Washington College. Kamenev pulled out a three-setter against the Big Red before earning a pair of straight set wins on Saturday. In doubles, he teamed with Nolan Shah for three 8-3 decisions at the No. 3 position.
Track and field will be back in action this weekend for the Emory Thrills in the Hills Classic in Atlanta, Georgia starting on Friday, March 24. Men's Golf will compete in the Shoals Intercollegiate starting Monday, April 10. Men's tennis will take on MIT on Sunday, March 26 at 10 am in Atlanta, Georgia.