Men win midseason invitational; women take 2nd

Wednesday, December 3

Rochester, Mich.

Grand Canyon

Oakland Golden Grizzly Classic

Photo by: Deb Schaffer

12/7/2025 9:12:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

GCU takes mid-year meet title for 5th consecutive season

By: Nathan Peters

ROCHESTER, Mich. – Grand Canyon delivered a complete performance at the Oakland Golden Grizzly Classic, capturing the men's team championship and finishing second on the women's side Saturday.

The Lopes earned multiple event victories and set several pool records across four days of competition. GCU combined depth and top-end speed to collect wins, runner-up finishes, and third-place podium swims that highlighted the strength of both programs.

Dartmouth won the women's title with 1,940 points, followed by Grand Canyon (1,776), Oakland (1,768), Eastern Michigan (1,471) and Wayne State (695). On the men's side, the Lopes claimed the championship with 2,091 points, narrowly ahead of Dartmouth (2,076.5) with Oakland (1,786) and Wayne State (1,209.5) rounding out the standings.

GCU athletes earned several meet-wide honors: Senior Elisa Corradi earned the highest point total among women, and senior Mario Perez did the same on the men's side. GCU sophomore Omar Elsayed secured the men's diving high-point title. Dartmouth's Maggie Lambdin collected the women's diving honor.

The Lopes claimed multiple victories, highlighted by the men's 800-yard freestyle relay of Perez, Jasu Ovaskainen, Eli Cohen and Guillermo Carrey, who won in 6 minutes and 27.83 seconds, and the women's 200 medley relay of Luna Torre Ayala, Beth Young, Paula Martinez, and Sara Mose, who took first in 1:40.50.

Corradi added a win in the 200 individual medley (2:01.53), and Carrey captured the 50 freestyle title in a pool-record 19.51.

GCU also tied the women's 400 freestyle relay pool record and established a new men's record.

Amid the Lopes' runner-up finishes, the women's 800 freestyle relay (7:22.69) placed second with Marta Guasp, Taylor Stasny, Corradi and Sara Mendoza.

Stasny, a transfer sophomore, also earned second place in the 200 IM (2:01.60).

GCU senior Paula Martinez Moreno added a silver performance in the 100 backstroke (54.67).

Perez finished second in the 50 free with a time of 19.61.

Freshman Sara Mose earned another runner-up finish for the Lopes with a 50.19 in the 100 freestyle.

Third-place results further bolstered GCU's scoring impact, led by sophomore Batu Servi placing third in the men's 500 freestyle (4:28.23) and freshman Sara Mendoza earning third in the women's 100 freestyle (50.31).

The Lopes also delivered a series of pool-record performances.

Senior Alex Volkov broke the men's 100 backstroke pool record in 46.21, surpassing the previous mark of 46.41, and his 45.90 leadoff split in the 400 medley relay also broke the facility record.

The Lopes' men's 400 medley relay posted a new pool record of 3:07.55, lowering the prior standard of 3:10.42.

Additional records fell in the men's 200 freestyle relay at 1:18.08 and in the men's 50 freestyle. Carrey, a sophomore, clocked 19.51 to replace the previous 19.63 mark.

GCU's women tied the pool record in the 400 freestyle relay, and the men's 400 freestyle relay established a new pool best to close the meet.

The Lopes' combination of event wins, runner-up performances, top-three finishes, and several pool records collectively showcased the program's competitive trajectory as the championship stretch approaches.