Both the Utah men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams earned victories this afternoon over UNLV. The men won their meet by a score of 189.5-104.5 and the women were also victorious, 179-120.
“I feel pretty good,” said Utah head coach Joe Dykstra. “I loved the energy and the enthusiasm as well as the effort. I know we are putting our best effort out there, which is great. You can also tell we are very tired form training at this time of year. We are deep in the water. We have two weeks until the Texas A&M invite so we will start to back them off in this next week or so.”
Utah (M) 189.5, UNLV (M) 104.5
Peter Kotson captured the 1,000 free (9:30.84) as well as the 500 free (4:36.93). Bence Kiraly took first in both the 100 (46.54) and the 200 free (1:40.15).
Daniel McArthur was another swimmer who took first in two events. He captured the 100 back with a time of 50.14 and then swam the 200 IM in 1:53.77. Adding to the win total for the Utes was Jack Burton, taking first in the 50 breast (25.84) as well as the 100 breast (57.17).
In the 50 back, Paul Unger grabbed first with a time of 22.74. McArthur followed in second (23.70) with Brandon Deckard tying for third (24.61). Unger also took second in the 50 fly with a time of 22.99.
The grouping of Unger, Burton, Kiraly and Kristian Almberg claimed the top spot in the 400 medley relay touching in at 3:21.61 while McArthur, Keanu Interone, Dave Fraser and Sean Bloore took second (3:25.00). Fraser also tied for second with teammate Ben Scott in the 50 free (51.28).
Utah (W) 179, UNLV (W) 120
The women started off with a winning performance in the 400 medley relay as Megan Kawaguchi, Genevieve Robertson, Jenna Marsh and Gillian St. John touched the wall in 3:49.47.
Marsh also took home wins in the 100 fly (56.68) and 50 fly (25.32), while Kawaguchi took first in the 100 back with a time of 57.87 and second in the 50 back (27.00).
Brianna Francis put up two wins on the day, topping the rest in the 100 breast (1:04.81) and the 200 IM (2:06.87). Kat Wickham claimed the top spot in the 1,000 free with a time of 10:48.76 while Jordan Anderson took first in the 500 free (5:07.30). Anderson also took second in the 200 free (1:55.09).
In the 50 breast, Darby Wayner just missed the top spot by touching in at 30.36. Robson (30.65), Sydney Bull (31.10) and Julienne Tadena (31.41) were right behind her. St. John took second in the 50 free (24.31) with Rhianna Williams in third (24.37). St. John also took third in the 100 free (52.79).
The Utes will travel to College Station, Texas on Nov. 19-21 where they will compete in the Art Adamson Invitational.
UNLV
The UNLV men's and women's swimming and diving teams were swept in a road dual meet on Saturday at former conference rival Utah. The men suffered a 189.5-104.5 defeat, while the women lost 120 to Utah's 179.
Despite the differences in scores, the women were able to win an impressive six events at the meet, while adding several second and third-place swims. Among those victories were Michelle Troup in the 200 free and 100 free, Elena Gavrilova in the 50 back, Lina Rathsack in the 50 breast, and Julia Fehervari in the 50 free. The women continued to shine in the 200 free relay, as the team of Fehervari, Troup, Rathsack, and Gavrilova placed first while the 'B' team of Zeineb Khalfallah, Sydney Schuette, Kelsey Wuoti and Kyndal Phillips were a close second.
The men's team on the other hand turned in four total wins on the day and were in several more tight swims. Posting wins were Dylan Tarazona in the 100 fly, followed by Dillon Virva in the 50 free and 100 fly. The relay team of Virva, Forrest Beesley, Joseph Starkweather and Kasey Foley won the 200 free while Christian Sobczak, Tarazona, JP Piotrowski, and Murilo Gustineli were also second in the event.
"This weekend told us a lot about where we are with our training," said UNLV Interim Head Coach Bobby Folan. "Coming up here to altitude is always tough. We struggled a bit backing up from last night but we raced hard throughout the meet. We had some great individual performances but definitely have some work to do as a team.
The Rebels will be back in the pool for practices before next returning to action at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta on Nov. 19-21.
