Utah vs UNLV
- November 4, 2023
- Las Vegas, Nev.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Utah Athletics
LAS VEGAS – Five different Utah student-athletes earned multiple first-place finishes and the University of Utah swimming and diving team also took first in all four diving events to pave the way for a pair of victories over the UNLV Rebels on Saturday afternoon at the Jim Reitz Pool in Las Vegas, winning 162-137 on the women’s side and 179-119 in the men’s competition.
“I think we did well today,” said head coach Jonas Persson. “We had some really nice swims and some really good efforts on the diving boards. It was certainly a tough meet with great competition and I’m happy we were able to step up, be aggressive, race and have the will to win.”
In the Pool
On a day in which Utah’s swimmers piled up 17 total victories, Erin Palmer, Evan VanBrocklin, Summer Stanfield and Brandon Miller all put forth a pair of first-place efforts. The first to do so was Palmer, who added to her cache of victories as a sophomore by taking first in the 100 breast in 1:02.82 and the 100 free in 51.24. The North Dakota native has now collected five wins so far in 2023-24.
VanBrocklin also pushed his win total for the season to five by snagging the top spot in the 200 fly, finishing in 1:48.40, and taking the 200 free in 44.97. Stanfield recorded her first victory of the day in the 200 back with a time of 2:00.48 and repeated that feat in the 400 IM, clocking in at 4:24.75. For Miller, Saturday’s triumphs represented his first two of the year, as he won the 200 back in 1:46.68 and bested the field in the 400 IM in 3:55.58.
The first two Utes to make to the winner’s circle were Cameron Daniell and Tomas Chocholaty in the 1650 free, with Daniell grabbing the No. 1 spot on the women’s side in 17:03.09 and Chocholaty collecting the men’s event, reaching the finish line in 15:47.20. Jakub Walter nabbed a first-place finish in the 200 free, touching in 1:38.96 and Jaek Horner won the 100 breast in 53.81. Maddie Woznick’s first triumph of 2023-24 came in the 50 free, thanks to a time of 23.63, while Krystal Lieu earned the top spot in the 200 breast for the third time in the current campaign.
The Utes capped off their day in the pool with a Nick Chirafisi triumph in the 500, a victory by Jackson Kehler in the 100 fly and a win in the women’s 200 free relay by Palmer, Lily Milner, Woznick and Reagan Cathcart.
On the Boards
On the diving side, it was Elias Petersen who added to his win total by outdoing the competition in both the 1m and 3m. The sophomore started the day by racking up 318.30 points for a first-place finish in the 1m, then put up a score of 381.15 to again land atop the podium in the 3m. The latter mark represented Petersen’s highest total of the year in the 3m and he also surpassed the NCAA Championship standard in each competition.
In the women’s 1m, Holly Waxman reeled in a narrow win with a score of 274.80 and Emilia Nilsson Garip wasn’t far behind with a mark of 267.08. Nilsson Garip then recorded a first-place finish of her own in the 3m, posting a point total of 285.15. All three of those scores surpassed the NCAA championship benchmark.
“We had a great effort today,” said head diving coach Richard Marschner. “It was a bit of an ugly win, but I mean that in a very positive way. This is a really difficult place to dive after waking up at five in the morning and being on a flight. The fight they showed to get the job done, even if it wasn’t the best results we’ve ever seen, I’m really happy with how they fought through the tough environment to come away with four wins.”
Looking Ahead
The Utes have a pair of invitationals on the horizon, with the CMU Invitational scheduled for Nov. 15-18, while the Texas A&M Invitational will take place on Nov. 15-17.
Courtesy: UNLV Athletics
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – In their second meet in back-to-back days, the UNLV men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams dropped their respective duals to Utah on Saturday at Jim Reitz Pool. They each finished their home-opening weekend 1-1 after beating BYU in their Friday matchups.
The Rebels were topped by the Utes, 179-119, on the men’s side, while the Scarlet & Gray women’s squad fell by a 162-137 tally.
In spite of the final outcome, UNLV left the pool with 11 combined victories across the individual and relay events.
REBELS OF THE MEET:
*Junior Mykkanen went 2-0 in the butterfly events against the Utes with her first-place times in the 100 fly (56.23) and 200 fly (2:05.21). She went undefeated in the 200 fly against her opponents across the Rebels’ two meets this weekend with the Rebels’ top butterfly specialist Blanka Bokros away in her home country competing at the Hungarian National Championships.
*Adding another double-win outing, sophomore Erika Carlson swept the 200 free (1:50.20) and the 500 free (4:55.16).
*Tying for the most points for the Rebel men, senior George Ratiu took center stage in the 50 free, taking first (20.48) and then going on to finish second in the 100 free (45.14).
*In the men’s breaststroke events, junior Adnan Beji improved to 3-0 on the year in the 200 breast (1:59.27) with a narrow win by 12-hundredths of a second. This was paired with his second-place finish in the 100 breast (53.93).
*Freshman Wilkus Potgieter swam to victory in the 100 backstroke, clocking a 48.99 in the event. He also placed second in the 200 back (1:50.25)
*On the women’s side, freshman Dominika Trentkiewicz had a pair of top-5 finishes, taking first in the 100 back (56.10) and fourth in the 200 back (2:04.50).
THE RUNDOWN – WOMEN:
*Starting the day’s events in the 400 medley relay, UNLV’s ‘A’ team of Trentkiewicz, senior Calysta Bartlett, Mykkanen and sophomore Averi Webbe guided their squad to a winning time of 3:45.66.
*In a 1-2-3 sweep of the 500 free with Carlson, freshman Ava Olson finished second (5:02.00) and sophomore Ashley Huges came in third (5:02.31).
*Leading the Scarlet & Gray’s women divers, senior Vika Yanovska dove her way to a second-place finish (274.43) in the 1-meter competition.
*Freshman Chelsey Dorosh led the Rebels in the 3-meter competition with a score of 267.98.
THE RUNDOWN – MEN:
*The beginning of the men’s swimming competition began with UNLV’s ‘A’ team of Potgieter, Beji, Ratiu and senior Cam Castro taking home first in the 400 medley relay (3:14.83).
*Ratiu’s 50 free win headlined a Rebel 1-2 finish, with junior Bryson Huey coming in second (20.63).
*Sophomore Colby Raffel finished second in the 200 fly, clocking a season-best 1:49.91 for an improvement of over seven-tenths of a second.
*Leading the Scarlet & Gray’s men’s divers, junior Dima Tereshchenko dove his way to a second-place finish (301.80) in the 1-meter competition.
*Concluding the meet, Huey, Castro, and seniors Lucas Esenwein and Steven Butler won the 200 free relay (1:21.15).
UP NEXT: The Scarlet & Gray will hit the road to the Lone Star State in the University of Texas Invite at the Texas Swimming Center from Wednesday, Nov. 15 until Saturday, Nov. 18.