Pool, team records fall as Grand Canyon shines at Notre Dame

Saturday, January 30

South Bend, Ind.

All Day

Grand Canyon

Shamrock Dual Meet Invite - Illinois State, Notre Dame, Iowa

Photo by: Darryl Webb

Pool, team records fall as Grand Canyon shines at Notre Dame

1/30/2016 8:52:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

By: Jerry Trickie

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Mark Nikolaev and Estela Davis Ortiz led the way as the Grand Canyon men's and women's swimming and diving teams combined for nine first-place finishes on Saturday in the Shamrock Invitational. Among the victories were five pool records and three Grand Canyon team records.

The second day of the invitational was set up in a dual meet format. The GCU men went 3-0 on the afternoon, defeating No. 25 Notre Dame (224.5-145.5), Iowa (202.0-168.0) and Missouri State (245.0-119.0). The Lopes' women's team finished 1-2, beating Illinois State (288.0-82.0) while falling to Notre Dame (254.0-115.0) and Iowa (202.0-167.0). Both the Iowa and Notre Dame women were ranked among the top 40 in the most recent Collegeswimming.com Top 50.

"We scheduled this meet so we would have one last strong test before the WAC Championships and both our men and women rose to the challenge," head coach Steve Schaffer said. "We are a better, more confident team after this meet. Our men did a fantastic job in racing and beating No. 25 Notre Dame and a very good Iowa team."

Nikolaev had a hand in five victories on the second day of the invite, including three individual wins. He set two school records, including posting the 13th-fastest time in Division I this season in the 100-yard backstroke. In that race, Nikolaev broke the pool record held by former Olympian Matt Grevers by going 46.33.

Nikolaev's other school record Saturday came in the leadoff leg of the 200-yard medley relay, when he went 21.84 in the 50-yard backstroke. His effort led GCU to a pool record in the relay event in 1:27.67, toppling the former mark previously held by Michigan.

In the tightest race of the day, Nikolaev brought home the top spot in the 200-yard backstroke in 26.90, edging teammate Iegor Lytvenok, who hit the wall in 26.93. Nikolaev also had a tight race with another Lope in the 100-yard butterfly, pushing past Daniil Antipov by just .30, earning a winning time of 47.35. Nikolaev also led GCU to the top spot in the 400-yard freestyle relay in a school-record time of 2:55.21.

Mazen Elkamash also played a key role Saturday, leading the field in the 100-yard freestyle with a winning time of 43.84 after pushing GCU to an 800-yard freestyle victory in 6:37.37. Elkamash's victory in the 100-yard freestlye was one of three top-five finishes by GCU swimmers in the event, as teammates Illya Glazunov (fourth, 44.91) and Jacob Lambros (45.27) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Antipov picked up another victory for Grand Canyon, surging to the top position in the 200-yard butterfly by getting to the wall in 1:47.63. Youssef Elkamash added a second-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (55.23) and Iegor Lytvenok was runner-up in the 400-yard IM (3:59.35) to round out the top finishes.

Schaffer noted that the GCU women also faced good competition and learned to go head-to-head with the top teams without being intimidated. He thinks that bodes well for the future and a strong finish to the 2015-16 season.

"I think they are ready to make a significant improvement in their WAC Championship placing this year and I am very excited for the progress they have shown this year," Schaffer said.

Pacing that growth and improvement was Davis Ortiz, who continued her recent stellar run by breezing to two victories while also earning an individual second-place finish and helping two relays to second-place swims. Davis Ortiz's wins came in the backstroke events, taking the top spot in the 100-yard back in 55.13 before adding a victory in the 200-yard back in 1:58.11. She was closely followed by teammate Iryna Glavnyk, who was second in the 200-yard back (1:58.95) and third in the 100-yard back (55.67).

Adding to the Lopes' 16 top-five finishes, Davis Ortiz was second in the 400-yard individual medley (4:24.81) and was the anchor for second-place finishes in the 400-yard freestyle (3:25.07) and the 800-yard freestyle (7:32.31).

With the third school record of the day, Jovanna Koens posted a time of 23.14 in the 50-yard freestyle and was runner-up time in the 100-yard freestyle in 50.74. Rebecca Coan (56.06) and Vangelina Dragonova (1:04.61) were third in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke, respectively, for the Lopes.

"We definitely have room to improve before the WAC meet, but we are definitely on the right track," Schaffer said. "This was our last regular-season men's meet so we will now be focused on bringing our workload down and continuing to refine our racing strategies and skills."

The Grand Canyon men now sets sights on the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships at the end of next month. The event runs Feb. 24-27 in Houston, Texas. The women's team has one remaining dual meet against Idaho at home on Feb. 5 before turning its attention to the WAC meet.