UNLV vs Grand Canyon
- February 3, 2024
- Phoenix, Ariz.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: UNLV Athletics
PHOENIX (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV men’s and women’s swimming and diving split their final dual meet of the season at Grand Canyon Saturday at Fr Edward A. Reese Aquatic Center. The Rebel women secured a 152.5-140.5 victory over the Antelopes, while the Rebel men fell to GCU,151-143.
On the day, the Rebel women’s and men’s squads combined to win 16 events and claimed first-place finishes on both sides in six of those.
THE RUNDOWN – WOMEN:
*As part of a complete 1-2-3 Scarlet & Gray sweep in the 200 free, sophomore Marta Klimek clocked a season-best time of 1:49.78 in her win. She was followed by her Rebel counterparts Erika Carlson (1:50.13) and Ava Olson (1:50.79) in second and third, respectively.
*Senior Blanka Bokros finished the 200 fly with a winning time of 2:00.92.
*Sprinting her way to a double-win meet, freshman Fernanda Mendez Guerra tied for first in the 50 free (23.18) and earned a first-place finish outright in the 100 free (49.71).
*In the 200 breast, senior Ruby Howell finished with a first-place time of 2:16.82.
*Senior Vika Yanovska sprung her way to a sweep of the 1-meter ( 264.08) and 3-meter (302.85) events. She led 1-2 Rebel finishes in each of those as freshman Chelsey Dorosh took second on the 1-meter (246.53) and 3-meter (274.88) springboards.
*Solidifying the Rebels’ team victory, the Scarlet & Gray ‘A’ squad of Pilar Cohen, Mendez Guerra, Bridget Sullivan and Calysta Bartlett combined for a winning time of 1:34.18.
THE RUNDOWN – MEN:
*Senior Cam Castro swept his two went, winning the 1650 free (15:51.08) and the 500 free (4:33.01). His performances led the way for 1-2 Rebel finishes that included redshirt freshman Colby Raffel’s (15.56.96) second-place effort in the 1650 and junior Andrew Navarro’s second-place outing in the 500 free (4:38.15).
*In the 200 free, freshman Ambrus Barczak (1:39.17) recorded his first collegiate victory with a 1:39.17.
*Winning the 200 fly, Navarro swam a season-best 1:48.82 to give him two top-2 finishes for the meet.
*In a perfect outing in his two individual events, senior George Ratiu sprinted to victories in the 50 free (19.99) and 100 free (44.27). Junior Bryson Huey place second behind Ratiu in the 50 free for a 1-2 Rebel finish.
*Freshman Alex Vazquez provided the final Scarlet & Gray individual win in the 3-meter (344.33) competition.
*In the last swimming event, UNLV’s ‘A’ squad of Ratiu, Huey, Steven Butler and Castro logged a Reese Aquatic Center pool record of 1:19.82.
UP NEXT: The Rebels now look ahead to their conference championships, with the women competing in the Mountain West Championships February 21-24 and men at the WAC Championships February 28-March 2.
Courtesy: GCU Athletics
The Grand Canyon swimming and diving team closed out the regular-season scheudule at home Saturday with much to look forward to heading into the postseason.
The GCU men defeated reigning WAC champion UNLV in a tight meet with a final score of 151-143 in Phoenix. On the women’s side, the Lopes fell 152.5-140.5.
The GCU women started out with a 200-yard medley relay win with graduate student Briana Rittenbach, senior Raphaela Nakashima, sophomore Paula Martinez Moreno and junior Maria Brunlehner going 1 minute, 41.33 seconds to take first.
The Lopes men got out to an important start with their 200 medley relay win, thanks to Alex Volkov, Jonathan Rom, Sam Jennings and Eli Cohen touching first with a time of 1:28.60.
GCU celebrated five seniors in Rittenbach, Ian Shultz, Vitaly Kostin, Reece Robles, and Isaac Poole.
Rittenbach won the 100 backstroke by over a second with a time of 55.76 seconds.
The Lopes men went one-two-three in the 100 backstroke with Sam Jennings (48.67), Alex Volkov (48.78), and Daniel Volkov (50.42).
Jennings went on to also win the 200 backstroke with a mark of 1:45.84. Volkov won the 100 butterfly, going 47.91 to claim first.
Rom, a sophomore, continued his season success with three more individual wins Saturday in Phoenix. The Israel native won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.60, the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:57.23, and the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:49.37. The 200 breaststroke time marks an NCAA Championships B cut.
Sophomore Krisalyn Henderson had a strong day with two wins for the Lopes. Henderson started by winning the 1,650 freestyle (17:09.32) and followed that by taking first in the 200 backstroke (2:03.71).
The Lopes men received crucial points from the diving competitions as Robles, a senior, took first in the 3-meter with 343.35 points while Poole, also a senior, took second in the 1-meter (307.50) and 3-meter (330.60) compettitions.
Saturday marked the final meet of the regular season while the Lopes will now prepare for the WAC Championships, which run Feb. 28- March 2 in Pharr, Texas.
Full results from Saturday can be found here.
