COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV women's swimming and diving super senior Kate Afanasyeva won the 100 back title and the Rebels added a 200 free relay school record Friday to highlight their third day of competition at the Mountain West Championships in Texas A&M's Rec Center Natatorium.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY:
Prior to her first career individual title, Afanasyeva joined forces with senior Kristina Schneider, sophomore Malia Fernandez and senior Ava Haase in the 200 free relay as they secured a silver-medal finish with a program-best time of 1:28.96. Their performance broke the previous Scarlet and Gray record (1:30.46) set at the 2015 MW Championships in San Antonio, Texas, while it also marked the Rebels' third straight evening with a new relay record.

After she swam a personal best 52.96 seconds in the 100 back prelims, Afanasyeva came out firing again in the finals to split a speedy first 50 yards in 25.06 seconds on her way to the gold medal. Her win put the 100 backstroke title into the possession of a Rebel swimmer for the first time since 2013.

Holding its spot in third place, UNLV ended the day with 792 points to cut its deficit to UNR in second to only 97.5 points. The San Diego State Aztecs maintained their spot as the team to chase, however, in first place (1082.5 points) going into championship Saturday.
 
THE RUNDOWN:
*Adding onto the day's medal count, senior Gabby Lizzul turned in a time of 4:19.54 in the 400 IM to come away with the bronze medal. She was joined by her Rebel teammate in the top-5 for the event by sophomore Ruby Howell (4:20.72), who tallied a fifth-place finish.
*Notching two more podium finishes in the 100 fly, sophomores Blanka Bokros (53.44) and Sarah Koopmans (53.50) earned the silver and bronze, respectively. Additionally, the former moved up to fifth all-time at UNLV in the event while the latter also had a personal best for the sixth fastest time on that list.
*The hardware spree did not end there as Schneider swam a 1:47.18 in the 200 free for her second silver medal of the conference meet.
*Senior Julia Filippova also contributed an eighth-place finish in the 200 free to hand the Rebels their third event with at least two top-eight finishes.
*Sophomores Calysta Bartlett and Tosia Iwanowska glided their way to another pair of Scarlet and Gray top-8 finishes in the 100 breast. Bartlett clocked an NCAA 'B' cut and personal-best time of 1:00.77 to place fourth while Iwanowska logged a time of 1:02.02 for an eighth-place finish.
*The duo of Afanasyeva and senior Lindsay Swail reeled in the fifth and final pair of top-8 individual finishes in the 100 back finals. Rounding out that pool, Swail finished eighth with a time of 55.04 seconds.
*Meanwhile, senior Kacey Kiuchi provided another bright spot in the 100 back as she emerged as the winner of the 'B' final with a mark of 55.15 seconds.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The Rebel women will conclude the MW Championships with Saturday's session. The prelims start at 9 a.m. PT/11 a.m. CT, which will be followed by the 1650 free final at 1:50 p.m. PT/3:50 p.m. CT and the remaining event finals 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
Friday, February 18
Third Day Results
 
Team Scoring
1. San Diego State - 1082.5
2. UNR - 889.5
3. UNLV - 792
4. Wyoming - 607.5
5. Colorado State - 488
6. Fresno State - 473.5
7. Air Force - 456
8. San Jose State - 370.5
9. University of New Mexico - 276.5

Top-8 Finishes
200 free relay: 2nd place - 1:28.96* (Schneider, Fernandez, Afanasyeva, Haase)
400 IM: 3rd place - 4:19.54 (Gabby Lizzul); 5th place - 4:20.72 (Ruby Howell)
100 fly: 2nd place - 53.44* (Blanka Bokros); 3rd Place - 53.50* (Sarah Koopmans)
200 free - 2nd place - 1:47.18 (Kristina Schneider); 8th place - 1:50.96 (Julia Filippova)
100 breast - 4th place - 1:00.77* (Calysta Bartlett); 8th place - 1:02.02 (Tosia Iwanowska)
100 back - 1st place - 53.52 (Kate Afanasyeva); 8th place - 55.04 (Lindsay Swail)

^-NCAA 'A' Automatic Time
*-NCAA 'B' Provisional Time
~-NCAA Diving Zone Qualifying Score