Day 1: Lopes start hot at Miami Invitational

Thursday, December 2

Oxford, Ohio

Prelims 9 A.M. ET / Finals 5 P.M. ET

Grand Canyon

Miami (OH)

12/2/2021 8:41:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

GCU earn NCAA B cuts, set 3 school records with 51 career-best swims

By: Chelsie Davidson

OXFORD, Ohio – The Grand Canyon men's swimming and diving team led after Day 1 of the Miami Invitational while the GCU women's team was in second after the opening day at Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center in Oxford, Ohio.

The men's team's 346-point score was highlighted by sophomore Jack Armstrong, who set a new school record in the 50-yard freestyle and earned a NCAA B cut with a time of 19.3 seconds, dropping .36 seconds off his preliminary time. The previous GCU record of 19.47 seconds was one that he set at LMU this season. He also beat a 13-year-old pool record of 19.38 seconds.

Lopes junior Omar Elsayd earned an NCAA B cut in the men's 50 freestyle in the preliminary heats with a time of 19.89 seconds.

Armstrong, Elsayd and seniors Mazen Shoukri and Florent Janin swam a time of 1:18.25 in the 200 freestyle relay and set another pool record at Miami.

The divers performed well as sophomore Isaac Poole earned his NCAA zone score on platform, totaling 308.05 points in preliminaries. Classmate Nicholas Gunn took the finals win on tower, posting a score of 289.85 for his first win of his career as a Lope.

Junior diver Abigail Erickson took first in the finals with a score of 245.50. Freshman teammate Shiori Bak placed second behind Erickson with a total of 227.40 points.

The women's team's 285-point score was led by freshman Maria Brunlehner, who set a new school record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.66 for her first NCAA B cut. The Kenyan native also won the 200 individual medley for her second NCAA B cut of the day with a time of 1:59.54 seconds.

Senior Emily Muteti also earned an NCAA B cut with a time of 22.76 in the 50 freestyle during the preliminary heats.

Muteti, senior Claire Banic, junior Kaitlyn Carr and Brunlehner won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:30.63, earning a NCAA B cut. They also set a new school record, beating the previous record of 1:31.55 that was set at the 2021 WAC Championships.

Up next, the Lopes will compete in nine events on the second day of the three-day Miami Invitational. Preliminaries will begin at 7 a.m. (Phoenix time) with finals scheduled to start at 3 p.m. (Phoenix time).