Season opens with each team taking 4th

Friday, September 30

Grand Junction, Colo.

3 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Intermountain Shootout

10/4/2022 1:15:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

FINAL RESULTS

Intermountain Shootout wins go to Poole in 3-meter diving, Moreno in 50 butterfly

By: GCU Athletics

GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. — The Grand Canyon men's and women's swimming and diving teams opened the season last weekend with a pair of fourth-place finishes that were highlighted by victories from freshman swimmer Paula Martinez Moreno and junior diver Isaac Poole.

The Lopes teams turned in several strong performances at the meet that was swept by the Brigham Young teams.

The GCU women's effort was headed by Moreno, a newcomer from Madrid, Spain, who defeated an eight-team field with a 50-yard butterfly swim of 25.79 seconds, just ahead of senior teammate Kaitlyn Carr's second-place time of 25.87. Moreno also took fourth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.52.

Carr also was part of the Lopes' 200 medley team that took second place with a time of 1:46.12 submitted by senior Briana Rittenbach, sophomore Raphaela Nakashima, Carr and fifth-year senior Emily Muteti.

Nakashima also took third place in the 50 breaststroke (30.24) while sophomore Maria Chatzi was the runner-up in the 200 individual medley (59.35). Another second-place GCU finish came from sophomore Aleksandra Wegrzynowska, who swam a 1:53.69 race in the 200 freestyle.

The Lopes women's score was also helped by a fourth-place performance by senior diver Abigail Erickson on the 1-meter board with 415.8 points.

Poole led the men's side by posting a winning 3-meter diving score of 311.6 points with more GCU diving points coming from junior Reece Robles, who was third at 3 meters (457.65) and fourth at 1 meter (279.8).

The GCU men's swimming effort was led by sophomore Vitaly Kostin, a Russian who showed his versatility in his collegiate debut by taking second place in the 1,000 freestyle (9:50.74) and fifth in the 100 individual medley (53.14).

Sophomore Wyatt Dickman finished just ahead of him in the 100 individual medley at 52.85 for fourth place. Another strong GCU debut came from Jonathan Rom, an Israeli who took second place in the 200 breaststroke at 2:04.61.

Lopes senior Omar Elsayd landed fifth in the 50 freestyle at 21.12.

GCU returns to Phoenix this week to train for its next competition, an Oct. 15 meet at Arizona.