Lopes wrap up historic weekend of competition

Sunday, November 19

Evanston, Ill.

TBD

Grand Canyon

Northwestern TYR Invitational (Swimmers Only)

Photo by: Deb Schaffer

11/20/2017 12:44:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

By: Nathan Okonek

EVANSTON--The Grand Canyon men's and women's swimming and diving wrapped up their record-breaking and history-making weekend at the Northwestern TYR Invitational in Evanston, Ill. and Lumberjack Diving Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz.

The men's swim team wrapped up the competition in third place while the women placed fourth, but the highlight of the historic weekend was not what place the teams finished in.

Coming into this 2017-18 season and weekend's meet, waiting four years for NCAA Automatic Qualification, the Lopes had high hopes and expectations for what their team could accomplish.

"We had a plan for this meet to come swim fast and see what we could do on just ten weeks of work and a short rest to see if we were on track for the end of the season." Schaffer said. "We exceeded our expectations."

The Lopes capped off a record-breaking weekend, earning two NCAA "A" Cuts, 15 "B" Cuts, seven CSCAA National Invitational Relay A Cuts and 63 CSCAA National Invitational B Cuts by 25 different swimmers. The swimmers broke nine pool records at The Dellora A. and Lester J. Norris Aquatics Center and eight team records.

With the Northwestern TYR Invitational being host to many talented teams from around the Midwest, head coach Steve Schaffer knew it would be a challenge for the Lopes, but was more then happy with what his team was able to accomplish. .

"We are thrilled beyond words to have put together a group that is committed to take both the men's and women's to new heights." Schaffer said. "We are a bit ahead of where we thought we would be and we are anxious for a week of recovery before we start back at it."

Daniel Antipov capped off an all-around impressive weekend for the Lopes, as the junior from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, finished first in the 50 yard butterfly with a time of (21.41) and a first place finish in the 200 yard butterfly with a time of (1:44.54).

The men took home the 1-2-3 sweep of the 200 yard backstroke with Youssef El Kamash leading the pack with a time of 1:57.84 followed by Mantas Auruskevicius in second (2:00.70) and Asahi Nagahata in third (2:02.09).

Mazen El Kamash also finished on top with a win in the 100-yard freestyle, touching the wall with a winning time of 43.93, followed by Bogdan Plavin in fourth (45.23).

In the final event of the meet, the Lopes finished first in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Mark Nikolaev, Plavin, Mazen El Kamash and Antipov posted a time of 2:55.28, with Nikolaev breaking the 100-yard freestyle pool record with his lead-off split of 42.87.

Sophomore Nick Benson stood out at the NAU Diving Invitational with a zone qualifying and lifetime best score of 601.10 in the 1-meter diving event which was good enough for fourth place. He also placed seventh in the 3-meter with a score of 531.80.

The women's swim team also ended the weekend on a high note.

In the 100 yard individual medley, Iryna Glavnyk , with a time of comes in third (57.61), following her previous school record that Glavnyk set Sunday morning in the preliminary round of 57.31. Glavnyk also finished fourth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:01.78 while Diana Jaruseviciute broke the Lopes' team record in the 50-yard butterfly, finishing third with a time of 24.61.

Both Jaruseviciute and Glavnyk continued to contribute to the Lopes' success with a third place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay with teammates Roaia Mushily and Kenya McCray, finishing with a time of 3:27.79. Alyssa Christianson was another swimmer with a top three finish as she took third in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:13.85.

The Lopes now have a long break over November and December, till their next home meet versus Cal Baptist on January 6 at the Fr Edward J. Reese Aquatic Center.

"There is more work to do to get as many of our swimmers qualified for the post season as possible," Schaffer said. "I am exceedingly proud of what our swimmers and staff have accomplished and I'm excited to see what more we will achieve."