Lopes finish on top after opening meet

Friday, October 6

Miami, Fla.

4 PM

Grand Canyon

Florida International University

10/8/2017 9:49:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

By: Lisa Amsler

Miami, Fla. -- The Grand Canyon men's and women's swimming and diving program completed a successful opening meet at the FIU Fall Classic. The men finished first among six teams with a total of 505 points. The women finished third among eight, just 39 points behind the second place squad, with a total of 441 points.

"This was a very good first meet for us," Head Coach Steve Schaffer said. "The women really exceeded expectations and swam very well for this early in the year. They definitely made a statement that they will be a force to reckon with by the end of the season."

Alyssa Christianson placed first in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:19.61) while Diana Jaruseviciute and Marina McInelly placed second in their events to help rack up points for the Lopes on the women's side. Jaruseviciute swam the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.86 and McInelly finished the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:05.47.

With a number of really good swims, Schaffer expected his men's team to win the meet. "We have a very long way to go if we're going to have a presence at the WAC and NCAA Championships at the end of the season," Schaffer added.

Pietro Hufnagel-Toscani's outstanding performances in both diving events allowed him to become the first GCU athlete this year to qualify for the D1 NCAA Championships, scoring 323.80 in the 3-meter dive and 318.10 in the 1-meter.

Mark Nikolaev led the men's team with four individual first place finishes in the 200-yard IM (1:50.77), 200-yard backstroke (1:48.31), 100-yard backstroke (48.50), and 400-yard IM (4:04.35). The 400-yard medley relay - which consisted of Nikolaev, Youssef El Kammash, Daniil Antipov and Mazen El Kamash - finished on top after 3:19.40.

The men and women will both return to the water to compete against Seattle and Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, Calif. on Friday, Oct. 20 and Saturday Oct. 21.