Lopes draw from tough opponent at Air Force

Saturday, November 6

USAFA, Colo.

9 A.M.

Grand Canyon

176

196

Air Force

11/6/2021 1:06:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

Final Results NCAA Altitude Adjustments Adjusted Times

Poole sets GCU, WAC record in road meet

By: Chelsie Davidson

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — The Grand Canyon men's swimming and diving team competed in a two-day dual meet at Air Force, where they fell 196-176 to the Falcons at Cadet Natatorium.

GCU sophomore diver Isaac Poole showed out, as he swept all three diving events against the Falcons while setting a new school record and WAC conference record. Individually, senior Alonso Carazo Barbero and junior Mikhail Lyubavskiy also had stellar performances for the Lopes.

Day 1

After Day 1 at Cadet Natatorium, the men trailed 102-84 to the Falcons.

Poole came to fly with the Falcons as he totaled 372.0 points for the Friday win in the 1-meter event, breaking the GCU school record that was set by Pietro Hufnagel Toscani (367.20 vs. CBU on Jan. 25, 2020). Poole also claimed first in the 3-meter event after totaling 339.75 points. Air Force's Dominic Vallejo set the previous WAC record in the 1-meter on Oct. 19, 2013, with 358.65 points.

Lopes sophomore diver Reece Robles also had a great first day with a second-place finish in the 3-meter event with 282.38 points.

"The diving events were very strong on the men's side with some great performances highlighted by Poole's 1-meter event, where he won, breaking the GCU school record in that event," GCU head diving coach Hunter Shafer stated. "Robles also had a good 3-meter event, where he finished his last dive great, vaulting him to second place."

The Lopes men's relay team made up of seniors Adrian Curbelo Tejera and Kainan De Jesus, junior Amir Haviv and sophomore Jack Armstrong finished second in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of one minute and 31.55 seconds. All meet times were adjusted to the appropriate times due to the site's altitude level.

Carazo Barbero gave the Lopes a great start in the individual events with a win in the 100 breaststroke (56.55) and a second-place finish in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:52.67.

Armstrong finished first in the 50 freestyle (20.44) with junior Omar Elsayd coming right behind him in second with a time of 20.78.

Lyubavskiy took second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:35.15. He also finished fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:44.62). Junior Griffin McKean also earned a couple of second-place finishes in the 200 butterfly (1:54.23) and the 200 freestyle (1:41.63).

The Lopes finished Day 1 of the meet with a second-place finish in the 400 medley relay from seniors Samuel McKenzie and Florent Janin, junior Dawson Sloan and Armstrong.

Day 2

The Lopes started Day 2 off with a second-place finish in a tight 400 medley relay with a time of 3:21.56 from seniors Dylan Nasser, Curbelo Tejera, Haviv and Armstrong. The splits were close, but Air Force's Wen Zhang pulled ahead of Armstrong by 1.15 seconds in the last leg.

Poole won the platform event with 272.48 points for the complete sweep. Robles earned third place with a total of 252.90 points.

McKean won the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:08.03.

Lyubavskiy had a dominant finish in the 1,000 freestyle in 9:39.83. He also earned another second-place finish against the Falcons in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:04.36.

Carazo Barbero finished third in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 9:41.00 in a close race against Lyubavskiy and Air Force's Adam Grimm.

Elsayd, Janin, Sloan and Armstrong ended the meet with a fantastic first-place finish, swimming the 200 freestyle relay in 1:21.67.

Up next, the Lopes will travel to Oxford, Ohio, for the Miami Invitational on Dec. 2-4.