Freshman swimmer Ava Topolewski picked up Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week honors after two first place finishes in swimming and diving’s first home meet of the season earlier this month.
Topolewski placed first in the 1,000-yard freestyle in a time of 10:13.44, nearly 30 seconds faster than the next closest swimmer out of the 18 competitors. She also notched a first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing in 5:04.35, five seconds ahead of her competition.
Topolewski picked up a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, clocking in at 2:07.53. She also collected a fifth-place finish as part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team.
The results mark an improvement in time and place from her first meet at the start of the month, where she collected a third-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle, coming in at 10:21.85. She also placed sixth in the 500-yard freestyle and seventh in the 200-yard butterfly at that meet, finishing in 5:08.97 and 2:07.99, respectively.
The Grand Prairie, Texas native was a high school standout prior to GW, earning National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association All-America honors as a senior at Lake Ridge High School. She was also nominated for the USA Today Female Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year in 2021 and 2022 after qualifying for the US Open in three events.
She was a standout out of the pool as well, earning USA Swimming Scholastic All-American honors in 2019, 2021, and 2022.
Topolewski is one of eight freshmen added to the women’s roster for the 2022-23 season, and one of 13 freshmen who were added overall between the men’s and women’s rosters.
The Colonials had a successful weekend overall against Old Dominion, with both the men’s and women’s teams picking up their first victories of the season. GW notched top finishes in 22 of the 32 events, with sophomore Moria Freitas collecting three first-place finishes individually.
The Colonials will continue to defend their dual A-10 Championship titles as they take on Navy at home Friday and Saturday.