HOUSTON (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV 800 free relay 'A' team won the event title and broke the program record as a part of two podium finishes to open the MW Championships Wednesday at CRWC Natatorium.
The Rebels' 800 free relay team of sophomore Ava Olson, senior Gina Miller, junior Marta Klimek and junior Erika Carlson (7:07.06) won gold and bested the previous program-best time (7:10.18) by more than three seconds. It was the school's first conference title in the event since 2009 and broke a 16-year-old program record.
Contributing another podium finish, the Scarlet & Gray's 200 medley relay 'A' team of sophomore Dominika Trentkiewicz, senior Heather Gardner, sophomore Fernanda Mendez Guerra and senior Bridget Sullivan earned bronze and broke the school record (1:37.49). The time squeaked by the previous program-best time (1:37.92) which stood since the 2021 season.
THE RUNDOWN:
- Starting the day strong, the Rebels 200 medley relay team landed within a second of first-place finisher Washington State (1:36.51) and San Diego State (1:36.90) in second.
- In the 1-meter dive, senior Vika Yanovska had a strong fourth-place effort in her attempted title defense. She posted a finals score of 297.30, improving upon her morning prelims tally of 268.65.
- Ending the night's events, the Scarlet & Gray 800 free relay 'A' team dominated the event, breezing by second-place San Diego State by 1.98 seconds. After Olson led off (1:47.66), Miller grabbed the lead with a 1:46.27 on the second leg before Klimek (1:47.29) and the anchor Carlson (1:45.84) sealed the win.
QUOTABLE: "We couldn't have asked for a better start to the meet with two school records and a conference-winning relay. I'm proud of the women for bringing great energy tonight and looking forward to the rest of the week of racing."
-UNLV Head Coach Pat Ota
UP NEXT: The championship meet picks back up Thursday with prelims at 8:30 a.m. PT and finals at 4 p.m. PT.
2025 Mountain West Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
CRWC Natatorium at the University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Wednesday, February 19
Opening Night Results
Team Scoring
1. San Diego State - 184
2. UNR - 163
3. UNLV - 160
4. Wyoming - 154
5. Fresno State – 142
6. New Mexico - 127
7. Washington State - 116
8. Air Force – 108
9. Colorado State – 100
10. San Jose State – 84
Top-8 Finishes
200 Medley Relay – 3rd place - 1:37.49 (Trentkiewicz, Gardner, Mendez Guerra, Sullivan)
1-meter Diving – 4th place - 297.30 (Vika Yanovska)
800 Free Relay – 1st place - 7:07.06 (Olson, Miller, Klimek, Carlson)
-UNLV-
