Oct. 13, 2010

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The 2010-11 season begins for the UNLV men's and women's swimming and diving team teams this week, as the Rebels will participate in meets in both New Mexico and Arizona. First up will be a Mountain West Conference women's dual meet at New Mexico on Thursday, Oct. 14 at 4 pm (PT) in Albuquerque. Both the UNLV men and women will then compete in the Arizona Relay Meet, hosted by the University of Arizona on Friday, at 2 pm (PT) in Tucson. Saturday will see the Rebels face three other teams in a quad-meet, which will also include Arizona, Arizona State and Kansas. That meet will begin at 10 am (PT).

The Rebel men's team, six-time defending Mountain West Conference championships, return a very deep team from last year, that posted the best year in school history with a 21st-place finish at the NCAA Championships. UNLV was also ranked in the top 25 for the entire season. Highlighting the returnees for UNLV is senior Kier Maitland, two-time MWC Swimmer of the Year, and one of five returning Rebels that participated in the NCAAs last year.

UNLV's women's squad meanwhile was picked to finish fourth. UNLV is hoping that its strong freshman class, combined with the current sophomore group, will make a difference as they join returning senior Lisa Gillespie and junior Anja Crawford