COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV women's swimming and diving dropped new program records in its 400 medley relay victory and in the 50 free Thursday as part of a four-medal outing on the second day of the Mountain West Championships at Texas A&M's Rec Center Natatorium.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
The Rebel quartet of super senior Kate Afanasyeva, sophomores
Calysta Bartlett and
Sarah Koopmans, and senior
Kristina Schneider led from start to finish to strike Mountain West gold in the 400 medley relay as they posted a school record (3:35.23) for the second straight evening. Their collective effort shattered the previous program-best time (3:36.35) - which stood since the 2013 MW Championships in San Antonio, Texas - by more than one minute and is the Scarlet and Gray's first conference title in the event since 2008.
In a highly productive day in the 50 free, Schneider tacked on a school record of 22.27* seconds in the morning prelims and then took home the silver medal (22.41) in the evening's finals. Her top Rebel mark is a four-hundredth of a second improvement upon former Scarlet and Gray swimmer Rachel Dixon's previous fastest time swam at the 2014 league competition also held in San Antonio,
During their record day, UNLV moved up from sixth place after the first day of competition to now sit at third in the team standings with 428 points.
THE RUNDOWN – WOMEN:
*Schneider's 50 free finish handed her a medal in the event for the second straight year and was only topped by San Diego State's Elizabeth Menzmer (22.38) by three-hundredths of a second. She was joined among the top-8 finishers by Afanasyeva (22.86) in sixth place as the Rebels jumped into third place after the event.
*Opening the night's finals, senior
Teneka Ash claimed UNLV's first individual medal as she won the bronze with a personal-best swim of 4:50.57. Tagging only three slots behind, senior
Carissa Armijo (4:53.38) placed sixth as the only other Scarlet and Gray swimmer in the 'A' final.
*Sophomore
Ruby Howell brought home the second piece of hardware of the nightcap, as her third-place time of 2:00.61 in the 200 IM gave her the MW bronze.
*Adding to Howell's 200 IM success, her UNLV counterparts in Bartlett and sophomore
Tosia Iwanowska added a boost in the team's overall point tally by winning the 200 IM 'B' and 'C' finals to take ninth and 17th, respectively. Meanwhile, senior
Kacey Kiuchi's (2:03.25) 12th-place finish, Koopman's (2:04.39) 15th-place finish and freshman
Cameron Mykkanen's (2:05.63) 22nd-place finish also contributed to the Rebel scoring in the event.
*In the squad's highest scoring event (100 points) of the session, the Rebels also received a jolt in the 50 free from sophomore
Malia Fernandez (22.99), freshman
Pilar Cohen (22.03) and senior
Ava Haase (23.22) in the 'B' final as they finished ninth, 10th and 11th, respectively.
UP NEXT: The Rebel women will look to build on their momentum on the third day of the MW Championships Friday with prelims once again set for 9 a.m. PT/11 a.m. CT and finals taking place at 4:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. CT.
2022 Mountain West Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
Rec Center Natatorium at Texas A&M
College Station, Texas
Thursday, February 17
Second Day Results
Team Scoring
1. San Diego State - 643
2. UNR - 561
3. UNLV - 428
4. Wyoming - 387
5. Colorado State - 277
6. Fresno State - 262
7. Air Force - 239
8. San Jose State - 262
9. University of New Mexico - 168
Top-8 Finishes
500 free: 3rd place - 4:50.57 (
Teneka Ash);
6th Place - 4:53.48 (
Carissa Armijo)
200 IM: 3rd place - 2:00.61 (
Ruby Howell)
50 free: 2nd place - 22.41 (
Kristina Schneider);
6th Place - 22.86 (Kate Afanasyeva)
400 medley relay - 1st place - 3:35.23 (Afanasyeva, Bartlett, Koopmans, Schneider)
^-NCAA 'A' Automatic Time
*-NCAA 'B' Provisional Time
~-NCAA Diving Zone Qualifying Score
