Feb. 25, 2009
Results
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The UNLV men's and women's swimming and diving teams combined for a total of three relay victories, all in new conference record times, as the first day of action concluded at the 2008 Mountain West Swimming and Diving Championships held at the Oklahoma City Community College. UNLV stands in third on the men's side, and fourth in the women's standings.
The 24th-ranked Rebel men, who are looking to defend their title for the fifth straight year, began the night by winning the 200 medley relay in a new UNLV and MWC record time of 1:41.22, thanks to the team of David Seiler, Andrew Morrell, Peter Lorring and Thomas Andolfsson. UNLV then finished the night by winning the 800 free relay in a new school and MWC record time of 6:28.40. It was the fourth straight year the Rebels won the event, with this year's relay consisting of Kyle Virva, Calan Eldridge, Tyler Bush, and Kier Maitland. Both relays were NCAA "B" times.
Also scoring on the night for UNLV were was Vincent English on the 3-meter board, as he posted a score of 226 to place 13th.
Air Force leads the team standings on the men's side after the first day with 99.5 points, while TCU is second with 86 and UNLV is two points behind in third at 84. Wyoming is fourth (83), BYU fifth (67.5), and Utah rounds out the field in sixth with 61.
The Rebel women turned in a new conference record in the 800 free relay, blasting away the old record by over eight seconds as Marva Harpak, Friderika Szel, Zsuzsanna Jakabos, and Lisa Gillespie swam a time of 7:10.18, four seconds faster then second-place Utah. UNLV also placed second in the 200 medley relay, as Amanda Weinbrecht, Kelsey Clarke, Jakabos, and Megan Clark touched the wall in 1:41.22, the second-fastest time in the UNLV record book. Both times were NCAA "B" cuts.
Wyoming leads the women's standings after day one with 109 points. BYU and Utah are both tied for second at 75, while UNLV is just one point back in fourth with 74. TCU scored 72 to stand in fifth, and is followed by San Diego State (71) in sixth, Colorado State (66) in seventh, New Mexico (57) in eighth, and Air Force (46) in ninth.
The four-day meet continues tomorrow, and will conclude on Saturday.
