Air Force vs Grand Canyon
- November 3, 2023
- Colorado Springs, Colo.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Air Force Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS- The Falcons provided their best performance of the 2023-24 season thus far on Friday, defeating Grand Canyon by a lopsided score of 206.00-94.00.
“Our women stepped up today and raced so well,” said head swimming coach Colleen Murphy. “Every single race showed the quality and depth on our team. This was a very good win for our entire team and we are in a great place heading into mid-season.”
Of the 14 events, Air Force picked up wins in nine of the scheduled races.
The afternoon began with a Falcons victory in the 200 Medley Relay, as Anna Ashley, Naomi Furman, Allana Clarke, and Abby Turner posted a winning time of 1:43.79.
Turner, returning to the pool for the first time since being named Mountain West Swimmer of the Week on October 24, was also victorious in the 50 Freestyle (23.84) and the 100 Freestyle (51.78). Furman nabbed an individual win in the 200 Breaststroke as well, clocking in at 2:22.76.
In the 1000 Freestyle, Jessica Smith notched her first collegiate win following a time of 10:55.12. Another freshman, Natalie Gembicki, finished just behind Smith to claim second place after touching out at 10:59.54.
Putting together a big afternoon, Alex Clark paved the way for Air Force in 200 Freestyle, posting a winning time of 1:55.14. The junior also raced to a win in the 200 IM as the result of a time of 2:08.93.
Katelyn Andrist (5:14.92) and Lauren Arnold (5:18.20) finished as the top two swimmers in the 500 Freestyle.
To put an exclamation on the Falcons stellar Friday performance, the team of Clarke, Clark, Turner, and Ryan Mills ended the day with a win in the 400 Freestyle Relay, posting a time of 3:29.73.
In the diving portion of the meet, Kinzie Etzelmiller provided wins in both events. The senior was judged for 245.55 points in the 1-Meter as well as 251.55 points in the 3-Meter.
“Abby Turner, Alex Clark, and Katie Andrist have been consistently leading in their races and are bringing their teammates along in training,” said Murphy. “Their leadership, along with our captains, is going to be crucial as we head into our mid-season invite.”
Air Force will indeed travel to an important meet next time out, as the Falcons will compete at the Liberty Invite in Lynchburg, Virginia starting Thursday, November 16.
COLORADO SPRINGS- Picking up its first dual win of the new season, Air Force notched wins in 13 of Friday’s 16 events, far so outscoring Grand Canyon 192.00-108.00.
“This was just a great day for the Falcons,” said head swimming coach Rob Clayton. “The guys did a super job, and we’ve gotten better each time we’ve raced. It really came together today and we beat a very good GCU team.”
The Falcons opened the day with a win in the 200 Medley Relay, as the team of Tyler Surratt, Tommy Nagle, Joseph Moore, and Chase Dwornicki managed to touch out just ahead of the Lopes “A” team for a winning time of 1:32.37. The relay was just the start for the foursome.
Surratt was also victorious in the 500 Freestyle, as the freshman clocked in at 4:49.07. Nagle (57.06) saw individual success in the 100 Breaststroke, garnering the top time in the race. The win represents the first of Nagle’s career.
In the 100 Butterfly, Moore swam to a win following a time of 51.13.
Rounding out his afternoon, Dwornicki nabbed his first individual collegiate win in the 50 Freestyle following a time of 21.32.
The Falcon freshmen paced the rest of the field in the 1000 Freestyle, as Tucker Rice (10:04.49) and Ralph Fiscus (10:08.41) placed first and second in the race. The win was also the first of Rice’s Air Force career.
James Winterfield maintained his solid form, picking up a win in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:42.77. The sophomore was also the top finisher in the 200 IM (1:56.04).
Daniel Detjen was the winner in the 200 Butterfly, clocking in at 1:56.17. Staying with the winning theme, Gavin Peterman also supplied his first-ever collegiate win after claiming victory in the 100 Freestyle (46.70).
As well, Anthony Sebastian (2:07.01) and Bridon Rosales (2:10.32) finished first and second in the 200 Breaststroke.
On the boards, Alex Kenyon left little doubt, as the junior won both the 1-Meter (331.35) and 3-Meter (310.65) dives.
“We had a lot of guys do a lot of great things,” said Clayton. “I’m really excited for the guys, and all their hard work is paying off.”
Next, the Falcons will head to College Station to take part in the Art Adamson Invitational on the campus of Texas A&M. The event is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, November 15.
Courtesy: GCU Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. —The Grand Canyon swimming and diving teams fell on Friday to Air Force at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Multiple Lopes had strong showings despite the high-altitude setting. Times will be adjusted for the season records based on altitude..
In the men’s 192-108 loss, GCU sophomore Mohamed Mohamady had an impressive day with wins in the 200-yard backstroke (1 minute, 50.66 seconds) and as the 400 freestyle relay anchor (3:07.48).
In the women’s 206-94 loss, Lopes sophomore Paula Martinez Moreno continued her recent success with three wins. First, the Spaniard took the 200 butterfly with ease, finishing with a time of 2:06.6. Next, she won the 200 backstroke, clocking in at 2:06.73 before adding another victory by swimming the 100 butterfly in 56.47 seconds.
GCU graduate Briana Rittenbach (57.25 seconds in the 100 backstroke) and senior Raphaela Nakashima (1:05.39 in the 100 backstroke) also had first-place finishes for the Lopes.
Lopes junior Sam Jennings placed first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 51.09, more than a second ahead of the next fastest finisher. Jennings also took second behind Mohamady in the 200 backstroke.
The Lopes men closed the day with their 400 freestyle relay victory by going 3:07.48. In addition to Mohamady, the relay included freshman Guillermo Carrey Bosque and sophomores Alex Volkov and Eli Cohen.
Meet results can be found here (before altitude adjustments).
The whole team won’t be back in action until the Midseason Invitational at Miami (Ohio), where they will compete from Nov. 30- Dec. 2. The divers will be at the NAU Diving Invitational from Nov. 17-19.
