“Every day, Morgan (Bienias) challenges herself to be a better athlete and in turn, she motivates her teammates to do the same,” Westmont head coach Jill Jones Lin said.
After a stellar performance at the La Verne Winter Invite before Thanksgiving, NAIA All-American Morgan Bienias was named Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Athlete of the Week.
Bienias, whose recognition was announced Friday, is the third Westmont Warrior to receive the honor this season, after Olivia Garrison and Ella Chaisson received the nod on Nov. 2 and Oct. 12 respectively.
“I am very proud of Morgan’s accomplishments this season so far,” said Westmont head coach Jill Jones Lin, “and this acknowledgement by the PCSC is well earned. Morgan has continually improved over the course of the last two and a half seasons, and that is 100% attributed to her work ethic.
“Every day, Morgan challenges herself to be a better athlete and in turn, she motivates her teammates to do the same. On our team we talk about being gritty, and Morgan is the perfect example of what it means to have grit. I’m really looking forward to seeing what else she has up her sleeve.”
During the invitational, Bienias set new Westmont records in the 200 yard backstroke (2:09.16) and 1650 yard freestyle (17:37.77). On top of that, Bienias was part of the 800-yard freestyle relay team that achieved the automatic qualifying standard for NAIA Nationals.
This is the fourth time in Bienias’ collegiate career that she has received the weekly honor. Currently the junior ranks in the NAIA’s top-10 in five events.
Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.
email: sports@newspress.com
