Summer competitions prepare Lopes for new season

The Grand Canyon men's and women's swimming teams had yet another successful summer of competitions. The Lopes competed in a variety of meets for their home countries on national and global stages.

Emily Muteti competed in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle and 50- and 100-meter butterfly events at the Danish Long Course Nationals from June 23-26. The Bombolulu, Kenya, native also competed in the Kenyan Nationals, where she won the 50-meter freestyle with her best time of 28.26 seconds in the finals to qualify. She also swam the 100-meter freestyle in 1:02.05 for another victory.

Maria Brunlehner took the water alongside Muteti in Kenya. Brunlehner earned a second-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:15.95. The Mombasa, Kenya, native also took second in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:24.32. She is the third highest ranked swimmer in Kenya.

Lopes sophomore Christa Wilson competed in two national events in Great Britain this summer. The Dishforth, England, native earned a silver medal in the 200-meter butterfly (2:24.31) at the English Summer Championships. She also swam a leg in the 200-meter freestyle relay at the British Summer Championships

Incoming freshman Krisalyn Henderson competed in the Georgia Long Course Senior State Championship with her club team Swim Atlanta. Henderson, a freshman from Dacula, Georgia, swam in the 200-meter, long-course butterfly, where she earned first place with a time of 2:18.22. She also finished fourth place in the 800-meter, long-course freestyle with a time of 9:26.06.

Aleksandra Wegrzynowska, a WAC medalist and a freshman standout for the Lopes last season, had great performances at the Polish Nationals in Lublin on May 31-June 4. She placed third overall and second in the youth category with a time of 2:15.54 in the 200 butterfly. The Wroclaw, Poland, native placed fourth in the 400 freestyle (4:22.89), fifth in the 400 medley (4:58.55) and seventh in the 200 freestyle (2:04.93). Wegrzynowska also competed in the 800-meter freestyle relay posting a split time of 2:03.65 and earning second with the squad (8:30.93).

The men's team was also busy in the water this summer, especially our new Lopes.

Freshman Eli Cohen competed in the Israeli Summer Nationals where he earned three top-10 finishes. He placed sixth in the 50-meter, long-course freestyle (23.59) and seventh in the 100-meter, long-course butterfly (54.89) and 100-meter, long-course freestyle (51.33).

Classmate and incoming freshman Mohamed Mohamady represented his home country of Egypt in the FINA World Championships before heading to Phoenix. In Budapest, Mohamady swam in the 200-meter backstroke, where he placed 26th out of four heats. He posted a time of 2:03.84 with the top 16 qualifying.

Transfer Atu Ambala represented Uganda in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer. He swam the 50-meter freestyle (25.13), 100-meter freestyle (54.04) and 100-meter backstroke (1:01.68). He set season bests in all four events and set two national records for Uganda in the 400-meter medley relay (4:18.04) and the 400-meter freestyle relay (3:51.75).

The Lopes are excited to get back in the water as they begin practice in the next couple of weeks.

To keep up with the Lopes, follow @GCU_SwimDive on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Atu Ambala

Maria Brunlehner

Eli Cohen

Krisalyn Henderson

Mohamed Mohamady

Emily Muteti

Aleksandra Wegrzynowska

Christa Wilson

Related Videos