Former Mountain West Conference Foes Utah, UNLV Renew Rivalry In Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, November 8. FORMER Mountain West Conference rivals Utah and UNLV raced Friday night, with both the Utah men and women coming out victorious.

Utah Press Release

Utah’s swimming and diving teams both defeated the UNLV Rebels on Friday evening, with the men upsetting the 18th-ranked Rebels 166-134 and the women winning 195-105.

“We raced really hard and with a lot of passion. That being said, we were a little sloppy. We had a couple disqualifications. Some of our relay exchanges were not great, some too fast, others too slow. We had some poor finishes especially in the backstroke that cost us a lot of points. We were far from perfect but I think our effort and our attitude were close to perfect,” said Utah head coach Joe Dykstra.

Traycie Swartz, Amanda Barrett and Stina Colleou each won two races, with Swartz coming out on top in the 100 back (57.04) and the 50 free (23.97). Barrett took the win in the 1000 yard free (10:28.84) and the 200 back (2:04.09). Colleou won the 100 breast (1:04.48) and the 200 breast (2:19.85).

Giuliana Gigliotti, Madeline Jamora, Samantha Zuch, and Ring Teresa teamed up for second place in the 200 free relay (1:39.38).

Barrett was followed in the 1,000 free by Selin Ozturk in second (10:30.77).

Coming in a close second in the 200 free, senior Samantha Zuch came in with a time of 1:53.08. Third was sophomore Maryssa McArthur with a time of 1:54.90.

Zuch touched first in the 500 free (5:02.93). Soininen claimed the victory in 200 fly (2:03.61), taking second in the 100 fly (55.80). Giglotti took first in the 100 free (52.56).

Swartz was followed in the 100 back by freshman Jenna Griffith (58.13).

Freshman Brianna Francis came in second in the 100 breast (1:04.74) while senior Nicole Ligeza was second in the 200 breast (2:21.01). Francis also took the win in the 200 IM (2:06.43).

The women divers took the top three spots in the 1-meter dives with Kersten Merry (293.55) leading, with Jasmine Matkovic (260.70) and Amanda Casillas (254.03) trailing behind. Utah also took the top three spots in the 3-meter dives, with Merry again leading the way (290.93) with Cassillas (287.10) in second and Haley Blount (280.50) taking third.

Sophomore Bence Kiraly and Nick Soedel were both double winners for the men. Kiraly finished first in the 1,000 free (9:16.69) and the 500 free (4:39.22) while placing second in the 200 IM (1:51.57). Beating UNLV by .26 seconds in the 200 free, Soedel grabbed first (1:39.56) while taking second in the 50 free (20.82). Soedel also took the win in the 100 free (44.72).

While Soedel, Alex Fernandes, Jonas Holmstroem, and Ken Tiltges took first in the 200 free relay (1:22.65). The Utah men fell just short in the 200 medley relay with Kristian Kron, Ken Tiltges, Karson Applin, Alex Fernandes taking second (1:31.52).

Kron took the win in the 200 back (1.47.30) and finished a close second in the 100 back, trailing UNLV Henrique Machado by only .03 seconds with a time of 49.49.

Sophomore Dave Fraser took the win in the 100 fly (50.16).

Sophomore Andy Cunningham came in second in the 1,000 free (9:34.35). Tiltges took second in the 100 breast (57.88). Taking third in the 200 breast, freshman Nolan Rogers came in with a time of 2:07.91.

The men divers claimed the top three spots in the 3-meter dives with Jacob Crayne leading (357.90) with Josiah Purss (339.98) and Caleb Herrick (312.45) following. In the 1-meter dives, Purss took first (365.25), with Crayne second (307.05) and Herrick with third (287.70).

The Utes will compete in the Missouri Invitational on November 21-23.

UNLV Press Release

The UNLV men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were swept in a dual meet at Utah on Friday night, as the No. 25/18 Rebel men fell 166-134, while the UNLV women were topped by a 195-105 score.

UNLV claimed a total of six wins in individual events and won the opening relay, but could not overcome Utah’s success in the diving and distance events, while both teams split the two relays. Giacomo Gremizzi led the Rebels with a pair of wins, taking the 200 breast in 2:05.35, and the 200 IM in 1:0.17. Other UNLV wins came in the 100 back from Henrique Machado (49.46), David Szele in the 100 breast (56.12), Balint Batka in the 200 fly (1:50.46) and Dillon Virva in the 50 free (20.33). UNLV also won the opening event, the 200 medley relay, as the team of Machado, Szele, Virva and Tom Paco-Pedroni placed first with a time of 1:29.78.

In the women’s meet, the Rebels swept both relays, but only won two individual events. Those wins came from Jessica Heim in the 200 free (1:52.87) and Katelyne Herrington in the 100 fly (55.23). UNLV’s winning 200 medley relay squad was made up of Jessica Wong, Natalie Sanchez, Herrington and Elena Gavrilova (1:46.21). The final event also went to UNLV, as Rachel Dixon, Gavrilova, Herrington and Julia Fehervari were first in the 200 free relay in 1:35.91.

The Rebels stay in the state of Utah to face BYU in Provo on Saturday at 12 pm (PT).

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use