2021 Mountain West Swimming and Diving Champs

Swimming & Diving 2/21/2021 12:59:00 AM

Rebels Capture 2021 Mountain West Swimming and Diving Championship

UNLV topped UNR by .10 seconds in the final race to earn its second MW team title in program history

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – With the Mountain West Swimming & Diving Championship on campus for the first time, the UNLV women clinched the 2021 Conference title on the meet's final race by one tenth of a second Saturday evening at Jim Reitz Pool. The Rebels outlasted runner-up UNR (1,340 points) in the 400 free relay to finish with 1,349 points, securing both its first MW title in 16 years and its second in program history. Additionally, the Scarlet & Gray claimed the three points in the Silver State Series presented by IBEW and Nevada Donor Network for the first time in the sport of women's swimming and diving.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:

Trailing the Wolf Pack by .50 seconds on the final exchange, junior Kristina Schneider made a late push on the last 100 yards of the 400 free relay with a lightning quick 48.74 split to clinch the title along with her Scarlet & Gray teammates junior Julia Filippova, senior Lauren Smith and freshman Malia Fernandez over UNR. The victory gave the Rebels a sweep of each of the 200 and 400 freestyle relays during this year's MW competition, a feat last achieved by UNLV in 2008.

Earlier in the night, Schneider etched her name in program history with her individual 100 free victory to become the first UNLV swimmer to sweep the 50 free and 100 free at the annual MW event. In addition, the Rebel standout sprinter was the Conference's fourth individual to be crowned champion in those events at the same meet and the first since San Diego State's Anika Apostalon in 2014.

Ash also opened the concluding finals round with the first of three Rebel event individual titles, as she came away with the gold 1650 relay in convincing fashion by nearly nine seconds to pull off the first of two top-three finishes on her difficult double-event night. Her win marked the program's first MW victory in the 1650 free since Rebel alumna Jessica Heim's triumph in 2012

Moments prior to their championship-clinching effort, UNLV jumped out to a one-point lead at 1,285 ahead of UNR in the 200 fly after the Rebel juniors Gabby Lizzul and Teneka Ash finished deadlocked in a tie for the silver medal

THE RUNDOWN – WOMEN:
*UNLV's 400 free relay quartet of Filippova, Smith, Fernandez and Schneider combined for a time of 1:30.81.
*In her 1650 free win, Ash took over the fourth spot on the Scarlet & Gray's all-time record chart, clocking in with a time of 16:44.35.
*With their second-place tie in the 200 fly, Ash and Lizzul (2:00.65) sprung up the program all-time record list with the fourth-fastest time in UNLV history. Junior Carissa Armijo (2:01.75) reached the wall a brief moment after Ash and Lizzul to earn the fifth-place points for the Rebels in the 200 fly.
*Freshman Victoria Gutierrez (16:56.96) put forth a strong effort behind Ash in the 1650 free, completing the Rebel scoring in that event with a fourth-place finish.
*The Rebels received yet another fourth-place swim in the 200 back by way of junior Kacey Kiuchi, who touched with a time of 1:58.70.
*Joining Schneider among UNLV's top-eight finishers in the 100 free, Filippova placed eighth with a time of 51.03.
*Fernandez made a splash with her second B final victory in as many days, taking ninth overall in the event with a mark of 50.60. Her senior counterparts, Smith (51.02), Camryn Wheals (51.26) and Caitlyn Schreiber (51.66), also contributed to the scoring in their last career individual race with their respective finishes in 12th, 17th and 19th.
*The freshmen trio of Calysta Bartlett (2:14.47), Ruby Howell (2:15.88) and Tosia Iwanowska (2:19.24) gave the Rebels a boost with top-eight finishes in the 200 breast. Bartlett took fifth to and moved into fifth all-time at UNLV, while Howell placed sixth and Iwanowska followed in eighth.
*A day removed from her 100 fly title, freshman Sarah Koopmans (2:03.92) topped off the individual scoring in the meet for UNLV in the 200 fly with her 11th-place finish.
*Junior Montse Moreno provided a 13-point contribution to the final outcome for UNLV, as she finished the platform event (200.20) in 14th place.

QUOTABLE: "This was as true a team effort as I've ever seen at a Championship. There was a very narrow path to victory tonight, and every Rebel woman put their heart and soul on the line to make it happen. In order to do them justice, I'd have to literally list every athlete who swam or dove today. But special shout-outs go to Teneka Ash for same-day podium finishes in two of the most grueling events we have, and to Kitty Schneider for a relay anchor leg that brought the house down. My thanks to San Diego State, and to Nevada, for the great swimming and diving they brought. It is so rare to have a meet like this come down to the very last relay, and to have one tenth of a second decide a whole Championship is even more special. The energy created by that rivalry was something electric. Lastly, I'd like to thank UNLV Athletics for creating a safe environment for this Championship. There has been an enormous amount of hard work this year by our leadership, and many many others. The opportunity to compete, and excel, and represent our great University is something we don't take for granted." - Head coach Ben Loorz

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The Rebel men will take their shot at postseason success next week when they host the 2021 WAC Swimming Championships from Feb. 24-27. UNLV's diving squad will travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, for the Conference meet hosted by Northern Arizona.

2021 Mountain West Women's Swimming Championships
Jim Reitz Pool at UNLV
Las Vegas, Nevada
Saturday, February 20
Final Results

Team Scoring

1. UNLV – 1,349
2. UNR – 1,340
3. San Diego State – 1,309
4. Wyoming - 965
5. Colorado State - 925
6. Fresno State - 829
7. Air Force - 726
8. San Jose State - 345

Top-Eight Finishes

1650 Free: 1st Place – Teneka Ash (16:44.35), 4th place – Victoria Gutierrez
100 Free: 1st place – Kristina Schneider (50.09), 8th place – Julia Filippova (51.03)
400 Free Relay: 1st place – Julia Filippova, Lauren Smith, Malia Fernandez, Kristina Schneider (3:21.09)
200 fly: 2nd place – Gabby Lizzul & Teneka Ash (2:00.65), 5th place – Carissa Armijo (2:01.75)
200 Breaststroke: 5th – Calysta Bartlett (2:14.47), 6th place – Ruby Howell (2:15.88), 8th – Tosia Iwanowska (2:19.24)
200 Back: 4th place – Kacey Kiuchi (1:58.70)