Lopes finish weekend strongly in Ohio

Saturday, December 4

Oxford, Ohio

Prelims 9 A.M. ET / Finals 4 P.M. ET

Grand Canyon

Miami (OH)

12/4/2021 7:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

Men win Miami Invitational; women place 2nd at meet

By: Chelsie Davidson

OXFORD, Ohio — The Grand Canyon men's swimming and diving team won the three-day Miami Invitational while the women took second in competition that ended Saturday at Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center.

What a weekend it was for the Lopes. The men and women combined for seven team records, four pool records, 13 NCAA B cuts, 22 National Inviational A cuts, 65 National Inviational B cuts, 15 top WAC times and 72 lifetime bests this weekend in Oxford.

The men totaled 1,278 points in victory over host Miami (1,145) and Youngstown State (688). The top-three leading scorers were senior Alonso Carazo Barbero (70), graduate Dylan Nasser (64) and junior Mikhail Lyubavskiy (60).

The women scored 1,105 points in their second-place finish, trailing Miami (1,444) and outscoring Youngstown State (608). Freshmen Aleksandra Wegrzynowska (65) and Maria Brunlehner (57) led the way alongside junior diver Abigail Erickson (60).

To start the meet, sophomore Jack Armstrong and Brunlehner earned an NCAA B cut in his 100-yard freestyle preliminary heat. Armstrong earned the cut in a time of 42.77 and set another pool record. In the finals, GCU swept the final 100 freestyle with Armstrong (43.09) followed by seniors Florent Janin (44.18) and Samuel McKenzie (44.35).

Brunlehner opened the final day with her NCAA B cut in the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.58, in addition to breaking the 49.67 GCU school record that was set by Diana Jaruseviciute in 2018. In the finals, Brunlehner swam a faster time of 49.29, shedding .29 seconds off the preliminary record.

Senior Emily Muteti placed second in the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.81.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Senior Adrian Curbelo Tejera won the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:45.61. The race was down to an arm's length, but Curbelo Tejera reached the wall .12 seconds before his opponent to earn an NCAA B cut.

Lyubavskiy won the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 15:20.74 for an NCAA B cut. His time also set a new GCU school record, beating Carazo Barbero's time of 15:21.51 that was set at the 2021 WAC Championships.

In the men's 3-meter event, sophomore Isaac Poole won with a score of 290.45, while classmate Nicholas Gunn placed third, totaling 265.75 points.

"Nick Gunn dove well in all events," GCu head diving coach Hunter Shafer said. "He got his first win on platform while having solid finishes in the springboard events. Isaac Poole also had nice wins in both springboard events."

The men earned the top-three spots in the 200-yard backstroke. Freshman Sam Jennings won with a time of 1:46.64, followed by Nasser (1:48.73) and Kainan De Jesus (1:49.31).

Griffin McKean and Carazo Barbero went one-two in the 200 breaststroke. McKean swam a 2:00.06 with Carazo Barbero posting a time of 2:00.16.

Erickson won the women's 1-meter event, totaling 277.45 points, beating her preliminary score of 247.10 points. Freshman Shiori Bak placed fifth with a score of 223.40.

"Our divers did very well this weekend," Shafer said. "Abbie swept all three events and put up a good score on platform. Shiori had a great second-place finish on platform. I am looking forward to the next month of training and completion."

GCU senior Robyn Edwards won the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:57.30. Lopes sophomore Raphaela Nakashima finished second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:16.94 for a new season best, while Wegrzynowska earned second place in the 200 butterfly (2:01.87).

GCU swept the 400 freestyle relays to complete the final day here in Oxford. The women's team set a new school record with Muteti, Claire Banic, Kaitlyn Carr and Brunlehner, who posted a time of 3:20.65 beating the 2021 WAC Championship time of 3:23.06 for the win. The men swam a time of 2:54.75 in their victory.

Up next, the Lopes will take a rest before hosting their first home meet Saturday at 11 a.m. (Phoenix time) against Northern Arizona, Arizona Christian and Ottawa (Ariz.).