Nov. 5, 2002

CHICAGO - After claiming six victories and two second-place finishes in eight races over the weekend, TCU women's swimmer Erin Irons (Midland, Texas/Midland) has been named the Conference USA Swimmer of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. On the strength of Irons' performances, TCU compiled a 5-0 record in dual meets versus Louisville and defending C-USA champion Cincinnati last Friday and Saturday in Louisville, Ky.

On Friday, the junior led off the weekend by helping the Horned Frogs' 500 descendo relay team to victory. Individually, she won the 150 back and took second in the 300 IM as TCU routed Louisville 123-100.

The following day, Irons led the Frogs to two wins each over the Cardinals and defending C-USA champion Cincinnati by winning four events and placing second in another. Irons got TCU started in the morning session by leading the Lady Frogs' 400 medley relay squad to a first-place finish. Individually, she blew away the competition in the 200 back, winning the race in 2:07.16, three-and-a-half seconds ahead of the field and more than six seconds ahead of the nearest non-TCU competitor. She closed out the morning session by helping the Frogs to the triumph in the 400 free relay, which gave TCU a 43-42 meet victory over the Bearcats.

In the afternoon session, Irons claimed her only runner-up honor of the day when she placed second in the 200 free. With the outcome of the meet versus UC on the line again in the final relay of the day, Irons and the rest of the Frogs' 200 free relay team led TCU past the Bearcats.

"Without Erin's outstanding performances in Kentucky, we wouldn't have been able to pull out five big wins against conference competition, including two against the defending league champ," TCU head coach Richard Sybesma said. "The honor is a well-deserved one for Erin."

The honor is the first of the season for TCU (5-1) and second of Irons' career. The school record-holder in five events, she also claimed C-USA Swimmer of the Week plaudits on January 29, 2002.

Irons and the Lady Frogs return to the pool Thursday night when they travel to North Texas in search of their sixth-straight victory. The meet begins at 7 p.m. in Denton.