Spartans Sweep Weekly SSC Swimming Awards

WINTER PARK, Fla. - Tampa freshman Marisa Barton and senior Karl Burdis have been recognized as the Sunshine State Conference Swimmers of the Week, presented by VALIC.

Barton collected four first-place finishes, two individual and two relay, to lead the Spartans to a 185-77 victory over Saint Leo. The Crystal Lake, Ill., native took first in the 50-yard freestyle (25.19 seconds) and the 100-yard freestyle (54.52 seconds) events. Her 50-yard freestyle time was less than a second short of an NCAA provisional time. Barton was then part of the 200-yard medley relay (1:51.46) and 400-yard freestyle relay (3:44.47) winning teams.

Burdis recorded three first-place finishes, including an NCAA provisional time in the 100-yard backstroke, in a 161-101 win over Saint Leo. Burdis recorded the NCAA B-Cut time with a first-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 50.14 seconds. He also finished first in the 200-yard backstroke in a time of 1:53.20-less than two seconds off the NCAA provisional time. Burdis was part of the 200-yard medley relay team that finished first in a time of 1:33.39-also a time just short of an NCAA B-Cut. This marks the second time of the young season that Burdis has nabbed the honor.

For more than half a century, VALIC has served as the leading retirement plan provider for higher education, as well as for K-12 schools and school districts, healthcare, government and other not-for-profit institutions. VALIC has more than $65 billion in total assists under management and manages plans for nearly 25,000 groups serving nearly two million plan participants. VALIC represents The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc., and VALIC Retirement Services Company.