LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV men's and women's swimming and diving completed a sweep of their double duals vs. UC Santa Barbara and Wyoming Saturday at Jim Reitz Pool.
On the men's side, the Scarlet & Gray more than doubled up on UCSB, 236-114, and the Cowboys, 247-105. The Rebel women also topped the Gauchos by more than twice as many points, 256-95, while beating the Cowgirls 207-146.
Prior to the day's events, nine Rebel seniors were honored in a Senior Day ceremony. Those recognized included
Calysta Bartlett, Cam Castro,
George Ratiu,
Jamie Spilchak,
Lucas Esenwein,
Malia Fernandez,
Ruby Howell,
Steven Butler and
Tosia Iwanowska.
Overall, UNLV won 24 events during the two-day competition.
REBELS OF THE MEET:
*Ratiu enjoyed a perfect weekend in his events, winning the 50 free and 100 free, while guiding the Rebels to victories in all four relays (200 medley relay; 400 medley relay; 200 free relay; 400 free relay).
*Freshman
Ava Olson won the 1650 free and the 400 IM in her own 2-0 weekend.
*Freshman Fernanda Mendez Guerra pulled out wins in her 100 free and 100 fly races, while anchoring the Scarlet & Gray women's 200 free relay and 400 free relay wins
*Junior
Adnan Beji swept the 100 breast and 200 breast in a meet for the third time this season.
*Freshman Alex Vazquez finished the weekend unbeaten with wins on the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards.
THE RUNDOWN – WOMEN:
*Carlson's first-place finish in the 500 free spearheaded a 1-2-3 UNLV sweep in the event that saw junior
Gina Miller (4:56.53) place second and sophomore
Hannah Jones (4:57.62) finish third overall.
*In her 50 free victory, junior
Pilar Cohen sprinted to a finishing time of 23.36 seconds.
*Flying to the 100 fly win, Mendez Guerra reached the final wall in 53.33 seconds as part of a 1-2 outing for the Scarlet & Gray. Junior
Cameron Mykkanen's 54.96-second swim gave her a second-place finish in the event.
*Giving the Scarlet & Gray another first-place finish, Olson reeled in a 400 IM mark of 4:22.25.
*Finishing the meet with a 400 free relay win, the Scarlet & Gray 'A' team held off Wyoming with a season-best 3:21.24 behind Mendez Guerra's 49.15 anchor split.
*In her final home appearance, Bartlett made a late push for the lead in the final 50 yards before taking second in the 200 breast (2:16.12).
THE RUNDOWN – MEN:
*As part of a 1-2 Rebel finish, senior
George Ratiu pumped out a win in the 50 free behind his 19.84-second clip. Touching right after him in second was junior
Bryson Huey in 20.23 seconds.
*Beji's second victory of the weekend came off a time of 1:59.02 as he outlasted UCSB's Shogo Moridaira (1:59.91) by nine-tenths of a second.
*Freshman
Nate Thomason grabbed the No. 2 heat win in the 200 breast after clocking a 2:00.08 for the afternoon's third fastest time.
*In the 100 fly, Butler went sub-49 seconds in his third-place finish at 48.40 seconds during his final home meet.
*Taking a wire-to-wire victory in the 200 free, Castro darted to a 1:35.73, which bumped him into 10th all-time at UNLV.
*Junior
Dominik Bujak battled his way to a 400 IM heat No. 2 win with a season-best time of 4:00.07. Following closely throughout the same heat, his Rebel counterpart
Cooper Kiel finished third.
*In the 200 medley relay, the Rebel 'A' team of
Wikus Potgieter, Beji, Ratiu and
Bryson Huey got the men's squad's day started with a winning time of 1:26.18.
*In a 400 free relay that saw the Scarlet & Gray lead throughout, the Rebel 'A' team of Castro, Esenwien, Ratiu and Butler tag-teamed to a first-place time of 2:54.60.
QUOTABLE: "I was proud of the team this weekend. They raced really well in a tired state, and that's what you have to do in January. With only a few weeks to go, every race is a chance to get sharper. I thought we did a good job of that this weekend. Now we have to build on that as we head into championship season."
-UNLV Head Coach Ben Loorz
UP NEXT: The Rebels close the regular season with a dual at Grand Canyon on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 11 a.m. PT.
