The UNLV men's swimming and diving team dropped a dual meet with No. 24 Denver on Friday afternoon by a 172-126 score at Buchanan Natatorium.
The meet stayed close through the first half, with each team winning three events. The Rebels claimed the opening race, the 400 medley relay, as Henrique Machado, Boris Kulizhnikov, Balint Batka and Dillon Virva touched first in a time of 3:20.13. Denver then countered with wins in the 1000 free and 200 back.
UNLV's next win came in the 100 back, thanks to Machado and his first place time of 49.17. The teams split the next two events, with Denver taking the 100 breast and Batka finishing first in the 200 fly (1:47.91).
The Rebels took its last lead after winning the next two races. A 1-2-4 finish in the 50 free, led by Virva's 20.38, and a 1-3-4 in the 100 free (Tom Paco-Pedroni in 45.10) gave UNLV a 77-73 edge. Denver closed out by winning the final five individual events to claim the win. UNLV did win the final race, the 400 free relay, thanks to the team of Caio Dini, Virva, Batka and Paco-Pedroni that turned in a time of 3:01.72.
On the diving side, Rebel Lucas James split the events, winning the 1-meter with a score of 295.05 while placing second on the 3-meter.
The Rebels are back in action, along with the women's squad, when they host BYU on Saturday at 12 pm.
