Nov. 7, 2012

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis junior Samantha Shellem was selected as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Female Athlete of the Week for swimming & diving, it was announced by the conference office Wednesday. Shellem is the first Aggie to win such honors in 2012-13, and the first overall since Kayleigh Foley claimed the award almost exactly one year ago.

The honor is determined by a vote of the other conference coaches. Shellem beat out UC Santa Barbara's Heren Alanis and San Diego's Keenan Lineback for the honor.

Shellem, a junior transfer from California, posted the MPSF's fastest times in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle events during the past weekend, during which UC Davis competed in double-dual meets at UCLA (with Washington State) and Loyola Marymount (with San Diego). She hit a 1:49.99 in the 200, becoming the league's first to break the 1:51 barrier; and a 4:58.04 in the 500, the first to crack the five-minute mark.

The La Verne, Calif. native opened the weekend with a 500 free victory in Friday's meet with the Bruins and Cougars. She also finished second in the 200 free and 400 individual medley, hitting 4:27.87 in the latter - already good for eighth in Aggie history. In the matchup with WSU alone, she posted first-place points in all three events for a team-leading 27 points.

On Saturday at LMU, Shellem delivered another victory in the 500 free at 5:04.06, added a second-place 10:21.55 in the 1,000 free and swam the second leg of the Aggies' runner-up 400 free relay (3:33.53). Against USD specifically, her finishes in the 200 and 1,000 free were good for first-place scoring.

The Aggies hold a 3-2 record in dual competition this season. They have the upcoming weekend off, then host Nevada for another dual on Friday, Nov. 16.