Men Finish Second, Women Sixth in FGCU Invite

Friday, October 2

Fort Myers, Fla.

All Day

Grand Canyon

Florida Gulf Coast Invitational (Swimmers)

Photo by: Darryl Webb

10/3/2015 3:15:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Grand Canyon University men's and women's swimming teams competed in their first meet of the season this weekend at the Florida Gulf Coast Invite. The men's team placed second with 414 points, while the women's team finished sixth.

"This was a great way for us to start off the season for both our women and our men," said head coach Steve Schaffer. "Well over 95% of our swims were faster than our first meets last year, so we are well ahead of where we were and that bodes very well for the rest of the season."

After the GCU men led the team scores at the end of the opening day, South Carolina came back on day two to earn the first place victory with a score of 427. The Ohio State placed first on the women's side with 410 points, followed closely by Florida Gulf Coast at 394.5

For the men's squad, the field included South Carolina, Buffalo, and Florida Atlantic, while the women squared off against programs such as South Carolina, Ohio State, and Rutgers. Each team traveled twelve swimmers and entered two per event.

"For the men, this was a chance to take on a top-25 team and go toe-to-toe with them," explained Schaffer. "It was great experience for us."

The men's team picked up seven first-place victories during the event.

In the 200-yard medley relay, Mark Nikolaev, Youssef Elkamash, Daniil Antipov, and Illya Glazunov finished with a time of 1:29.51 for first place. The team picked up another title in the 400-yard medley relay (3:17.76). Nikolaev and Glazunov teamed up with Mazen Elkamash and Jacob Lambros for a second place finish in the 400-yard free relay.

Lambros, Glazunov, Mazen Elkamash, and Tanner Brotherton won the title in the 200-yard free relay with a time of 1:21.79.

Glazunov continued his success in the 50-yard free for the title (20.64) and finished second in the 100-yard free with a time of 45.11. Antipov won the 100-yard butterfly (48.24) and finished second in the 200-yard free (1:39.65), 200-yard butterfly (1:49.40), and 500-yard free (4:35.75). Nikolaev had a first place finish in the 100-yard back (49.44).

"Our top men's performers were freshman Daniil and Mark," said Schaffer. "Daniil swam some great times, including an NCAA B qualifying time in the 100 fly. To do that in the first meet of the season is quite an accomplishment. Mark had fantastic swims winning the backstroke events and was very close to NCAA standards himself.

Iegor Lytvenok posted a time of 1:50.49 in the 200-yard back for the title. Additionally, he recorded second place finishes in the 400-yard IM, 100-yard IM, and 200-yard IM.

In a tough field of competition, Iryna Glavnyk posted a pair of second-place finishes for the women's squad. The first was in the 200-yard back with a time of 1:59.81 and the second was in the 100-yard back with a time of 55.61. She also earned a fourth place finish in the 100-yard IM. Jovanna Koens earned a fourth place finish in the 50-yard free with a time of 23.75.

"Iryna had a great meet and showed she has what it takes to be an NCAA Championship caliber swimmer," said Schaffer. "She is starting this season with times significantly faster than this time last year, and she will only continue to improve."

"Our women's team went up against teams all ranked much higher than us, four of which were in the top-40 last year," continued Schaffer. "This meet was tougher than our conference championships and gave us a great racing experience early in the season."

The Lopes will compete against Bakersfield on Oct. 10 at 11 a.m. in Bakersfield, Calif. A full recap of the event will be available at www.gculopes.com.