Popham & Estrella Earn Weekly WAC Honors

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Bakersfield, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield swimmer Mikayla Popham and diver Adam Estrella each earned WAC weekly awards for their efforts in Saturday's dual meet at Fresno Pacific. Popham collected WAC Swimmer of the Week honors for the third time this season, while Estrella was named the conference's Diver of the Week for the first time in his career.

"Mikayla's award makes seven for our women's team this year," said CSUB Director of Swimming Chris Hansen. "She's had a great freshman season and we're excited to watch her swim at the WAC Championships in Houston next month. With the way she is swimming she can definitely be competitive in multiple events."

Popham posted three individual victories at the Fresno Pacific dual, including wins in the 200 Free (1:54.31) and the 500 Free (5:04.06). The Sunshine Coast, Australia native has dominated both events, winning four individual titles in each discipline, this season. Popham will enter WAC Championships with the conference's best seeded time in both events. She also holds the WAC's top time in the 100 Free.

The freshman picked up her third win of the day the 200 IM when she posted the races' best backstroke split and never trailed en route to a time of 2:02.66.

She added a relay victory when she swam the freestyle leg of the `Runners 200 Medley team, anchoring the team to a winning time of 1:48.05.

Estrella took first place in the 3 Meter diving competition at Fresno Pacific. His score of 275.40 outdistanced the field by more than 30 points. He added a second-place finish in the 1 Meter competition with a 260.55, finishing less than a point behind teammate Nate Cummins.

"Adam works extremely hard and is a great leader on our men's team," said Hansen. "This is a well-deserved honor and it is great to see him recognized after so many great performances recently."

Estrella's hard work has paid off in spades down the stretch. His win on the 3-meter board was his fourth individual victory of the last three weeks. In that span he has captured a pair of wins in each diving discipline and set personal bests at both heights.

Bakersfield wrapped up its regular season with men's and women's wins at Fresno Pacific on Saturday. The team will next be in action at the 2020 WAC Championships, which begin on February 26 in Houston, Tex.

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Players Mentioned

Nate Cummins: Diving; 5' 9"; Sophomore

Adam Estrella: Dive; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Nate Cummins
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: Diving

Adam Estrella
: 6' 1"; Junior
: Dive