Lopes set first WAC record of the meet on Day 2

Thursday, February 23

Houston, TX

9:30 a.m.

Grand Canyon

WAC Championships Day 2

2/23/2017 10:44:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

By: Lisa Amsler


HOW TO FOLLOW Stream WAC Digital Network \| Live Stats \| @GCU_Swimming

HOUSTON -- The Grand Canyon men's and women's swimming and diving teams have set the bar high with a series of wins on just the second day of competition at the WAC Championships.

Mark Nikolaev won the 200-yard IM with a D1 B cut time of 1:44.15, setting the first WAC record of the meet and a new team record. The previous conference record of 1:44.29 was set by GCU alum Iegor Lytvenok. The record setting continued with Wiktor Jaszczak's fifth place win in the 500-yard freestyle finals. The freshman improved from seventh place in the preliminaries and his time of 4:26.69 was a new team record.

The women dominated the 50-yard freestyle event, with Samiha Mohsen's time of 23.05 taking the title. Jovanna Koens was close behind with a third place finish (23.12) followed by Jade Howard in fifth (23.41). Rebecca Håkansson had her own personal win, swimming her first NCAA B cut time in the 200-yard IM (2:00.91) and finishing second overall.

Pietro Hufnagel Toscani earned the Lopes their first ever diving championship with a WAC title and D1 A standard score of 351.35 in the men's 3-meter dive. Michael Winfrey and Todd Alden placed 11th and 12th, respectively.

The women's team jumped up one spot in the ranks from yesterday, now sitting just behind Northern Arizona and Idaho in first and second place. The men's team maintains their hold on third place behind Wyoming and the Air Force Academy.

The Lopes will be back in the water for the third day of the WAC Championships on Friday.

Women - Team Rankings (through Event 321)
1. Northern Arizona University - 284
2. Idaho - 242
3. Grand Canyon University - 217
4. The University of North Dakota - 190
5. New Mexico State University - 185
6. CSU Bakersfield - 155
7. Seattle University - 98
8. University of Northern CO - 90

Men - Team Rankings (through Event 321)
1. Wyoming - 285
2. US Air Force Academy - 267
3. Grand Canyon University - 242
4. University of Nevada Las Vegas - 218
5. The University of North Dakota - 182
6. CSU Bakersfield - 116
7. Seattle University - 83