Rafael Ponce De Leon Honored as SSC Swimmer of the Week

January 13, 2025

MELBOURNE, Fla. - University of Tampa senior Rafael Ponce de Leon has been recognized as the Sunshine State Conference Men's Swimmer of the Week, as announced Monday by the league office.

Ponce De Leon guided Tampa to a dual meet win over No. 7 Wingate following two individual golds and a relay win. The Peruvian secured wins in the 200 Free (1:37.41) and 100 Free (45.16) in NCAA DII B Standard qualifying times. In relays, Ponce De Leon helped the 200 Free Relay (1:23.25) to a victory while finishing second with the 400 Free Relay (3:01.17).

Sunshine State Conference Athletes of the Week are chosen from a pool of nominees for their performances during the week of January 6 - 12, 2025. Athletic Communication Directors of member institutions nominate athletes.

2024-24 SSC Men's Swimming Award Winners

Oct. 7: Luca Alessandrini (NSU)
Oct. 21: Gustav Henriksen (NSU)
Oct. 28: William Beckstead-Holman (Tampa)
Nov. 4: Parker Knollman (Tampa)
Nov. 11: William Slowey (Rollins)
Nov. 25: Jacob Hamlin (Tampa)
Dec. 16: John Zeiger (FSC)
Dec. 23: Vitaly Kostin (Lynn)
Jan. 6: Balazs Ament (Barry)
Jan. 13: Rafael Ponce De Leon (Tampa)