Lopes hit Houston for WAC Championships

Wednesday, February 23

Houston, Texas

9:30 A.M. / 7 P.M.

Grand Canyon

WAC Championships

2/22/2022 11:30:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

Meet Notes at WAC

Women set sights on 1st conference title; men seek repeat

By: Chelsie Davidson

The Grand Canyon men's and women's swimming and diving teams will head to Houston for WAC Championships from Wednesday to Saturday at University of Houston's CRWC Natatorium.

Preliminary competition will begin at 9:30 a.m. (Phoenix time), with the finals beginning at 7 p.m. (Phoenix time) each day. There will be streaming of swimming and diving on ESPN+ with some events on the WAC Digital Network. Smacker Miles and Jason Metko will be on the call.

PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP COACHES POLLS

Women's swimming and diving

Rank	Team (first-place votes)	Points
1.	Northern Arizona (7)	49
2.	New Mexico State (1)	39
3.	Northern Colorado	38
4.	Grand Canyon	33
5.	California Baptist	25
6.	Idaho	18
7.	Dixie State	15
8.	Seattle U	7

Men's swimming and diving

Rank	Team (first-place votes)	Points
1.	UNLV (5)	25
2.	Grand Canyon	18
T3.	Air Force	16
T3.	California Baptist	16
5.	Wyoming	10
6.	Seattle U	5

STATS
Stats can be found on Meet Mobile and DiveMeets.com.

LAST TIME OUT
GCU completed the season on Feb. 5, when the men defeated UNLV 150-147 while the women fell 167-123 to the Rebels. The women finished the regular season with a record of 10-6 and a 5-2 record in conference action. The men went 6-3.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, Feb. 23
Men's 3-meter diving
Women's 1-meter diving
200-yard medley relay
800 freestyle relay

Thursday, Feb. 24
200 freestyle relay (finals only)
500 freestyle
200 individual medley
50 freestyle
Women's 3-meter diving
Men's 1-meter diving

Friday, Feb. 25
400 individual medley
100 butterfly
200 freestyle
100 breaststroke
100 backstroke
Men's platform diving
400 medley relay (finals only)

Saturday, Feb 26
200 backstroke
100 freestyle
200 breaststroke
200 butterfly
1,650 freestyle (top eight swim as first finals event)
Women's platform diving
400 freestyle relay (finals only)

FASTEST IN THE WAC
Lopes sophomore Jack Armstrong heads to WAC Championships with the fastest time in the 50- (19.30) and 100-yard (42.77) freestyle. He also holds the third fastest times in the 50- (21.68) and 100-yard butterfly (47.59).

GCU junior Mikhail Lyubavskiy holds the second-fastest time in the 1,000 freestyle (9:17.59) and 1,650 freestyle (15:20.74) and ranks third in the 400 individual medley (3:51.52). He also is top five in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:23.26.

In the 200 butterfly, senior Adrian Curbelo Tejera swam a WAC-best 1:45.61.

The Lopes also hold the top time in the 200 freestyle relay (1:18.02) and second fastest in the 800 freestyle relay (6:33.28).

The GCU women boast the season's fastest WAC time in 11 events.

Lopes' senior Robyn Edwards leads the WAC on her back with a time of 1:57.30 in the 200 backstroke.

Maria Brunlehner holds the top time in the 200 individual medley at 1:59.54. The Kenyan native also holds second-fastest times in the 50 freestyle (22.66), 100 freestyle (49.29), 50 breaststroke (29.06) and 100 breaststroke (1:01.39).

Senior teammate and fellow Kenyan native Emily Muteti holds two of the top conference times in the 50 (24.86) and 100 (54.06) butterfly. She also holds two top-three times in the 50 (22.71) and 100 (49.81) freestyles.

GCU sophomore Raphaela Nakashima holds the fastest times in the 50 (28.85) and 100 (1:01.33) breaststrokes. She also has the second-fastest time in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:16.81.

Freshman Aleksandra Wegrzynowska highlights the women's distance events. She holds the No. 1 time in the 200 butterfly (2:01.14). The Wroclaw, Poland, native is also second fastest in the 200 freestyle (1:49.53), third in the 400 individual medley (4:22.65) and fourth in the 500 freestyle (4:55.31).

It doesn't get better than a GCU relay. The women hold the fastest-times in all but one relay in the WAC. The Lopes are number one in the 200 free (1:30.63), 400 free (3:20.65), 200 medley relay (1:40.37) and 400 medley relay (3:40.54). The women hold the third-fastest time in the 800 free relay (7:28.64).

DIRECTIONS AND PARKING
Tickets will be available for purchase in person at the CRWC Natatorium. All-session tickets (eight sessions) are $40 for adults, $30 for children (18 and under) and WAC students are free with a valid ID.

Single all-day tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children.

Garage: Visitor parking is available in the Welcome Center Garage on the third and fourth levels for $14/day on weekdays ($5 after 4 p.m.) and $5/day on weekends. The Welcome Center Garage is located at 4400 University Dr. (right across the street from the pool).

Parking meters are located throughout campus. Time restrictions and hours of operation are posted on the individual meters. Visitors anticipating a longer stay should park in the visitor section of the parking garage.

QUESTIONS?
For any information regarding the WAC Swimming and Diving Championships, Click here.