INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the third time in his collegiate career and first time this season, McKendree University graduate student Xander Skinner (Namibia, Africa/Windhoek Afrikaans Private School) has been named this week's inaugural PNC Great Lakes Valley Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week as announced by the league office on Friday morning.

Along with earning this year's first PNC GLVC Men's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week, Skinner was also recognized by the league on Jan. 29, 2020 and Jan. 16, 2019.

Skinner earns this week's inaugural PNC GLVC Men's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week honor after his outstanding performance last Saturday in a double dual meet against preseason No. 3 ranked Lindenwood and preseason No. 7 ranked Drury. In that double dual meet, Skinner won four events and earned three NCAA B-cut qualifying times as he won first place with B-cut times in both the 100 freestyle (44:51) and 200 freestyle (1:39.16).

Along with his two individual wins, Skinner was also on McKendree's two winning relay teams as he swam the lead-off split (20.58, B-cut time) on the 200-free relay team that posted a time of 1:21.01 and was the anchor leg (44.66) on the 400 medley relay team that swam a time of 3:18.45.

Skinner's performance helped the Bearcats pick up wins over both Lindenwood (178-120) and Drury (194-101). Drury are the defending 2021 NCAA Division II National Champions.

Meanwhile, the league named University of Indianapolis' senior Johanna Buys as the PNC GLVC Women's Swimming & Diving Athlete of the Week. Buys earns her first career honor after winning three individual races with NCAA B-cut times at the UIndy Invitational. At the event, she won the 50 freestyle (23.09), 100 butterfly (55.19) and 100 freestyle (50.11) and helped UIndy's 200 free relay post a B-cut time and win (1:32.36) with a 22.523 lead-off leg. That time broke her own UIndy record in the 50 free and was faster than last season's national championship time.

Skinner and the rest of the preseason No. 4 ranked Bearcats return to the pool as they host dual meets at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex on both Friday, Oct. 22 and Saturday, Oct. 23. On Friday, the Bearcat men and women will host Truman State and Division I Saint Louis University beginning at 1 p.m., before the men face Missouri S&T and Delta State on Saturday and the women face Delta State on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Truman State is preseason ranked 20th on the women's side, while Missouri S&T is preseason No. 15 on the men's side and Delta State's men are ranked 14th and the Lady Statesmen are ranked 16th in the preseason polls.