Oct. 19, 2010

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Thanks to his role in leading the UNLV men's swimming and diving team to a big upset victory at Arizona on Saturday, senior Kyle Virva has been named the Mountain West Conference Men's Swimmer of the Week, the conference office announced on Tuesday. It is the first weekly honor of his career.

In a tri-meet on Saturday, Oct. 15, Virva helped the Rebels pull off one of the biggest wins in school history, as UNLV topped Arizona 138-123. UNLV also recorded a 206-55 win over Arizona State to start out the season at 2-0. Arizona had finished the 2010 season ranked No. 1 in the nation, and finished third at the 2010 NCAA Championships.

A native of Nevada, City, Calif., Virva won a pair of individual events over the two Arizona schools, and also swam on the 400 free relay squad that posted a time of 3:00.44, currently the fastest time in the nation. Virva's individual wins came in the 100 free in a time of 45.41, which ranks 12th in the nation, while his winning time of 1:39.84 in the 200 free is currently 10th fastest.

UNLV (2-0) return to action on Saturday, Nov. 6, when it hosts BYU in a MWC meet at 2 pm at Buchanan Natatorium.