UNLV Rebels Slated To Host 2021 Mountain West Swimming Championships This Week

Courtesy: UNLV Athletics

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV women’s swimming and diving will serve as host to the 2021 Mountain West Swimming Championships from Wednesday-Saturday at Jim Reitz Pool, marking the first time it has hosted the annual MW meet. Meanwhile, the Rebels’ divers will head to Air Force for the MW Diving Championships set to take place at Cadet Natatorium from Thursday-Saturday.

The swimming portion of the meet will be kicked off by the relay finals Wednesday at 6:30 pm, with individual event prelims scheduled for 11 am and finals set for 6:30 pm each of the following three days. For the diving competition, the prelims will also begin at 11 am and be followed by the finals at 5 pm for the duration of the meet.

Coming off a double-dual sweep of Hawaii and Wyoming in its last meet on Jan. 28-29, the Rebels aim to improve upon their fourth-place finish at last year’s MW event. The Scarlet and Gray will seek to receive a jolt from its trio of Kate Afanasyeva, junior Teneka Ash and freshman Ruby Howell, who each sit atop this season’s MW top times list in two events apiece. Afanasyeva ranks first in the MW in the 50 back (25.16) and 100 back (54.44), while Ash’s 1000 free and 1650 and Howell’s 200 IM (2:02.96) and 400 IM (4:21.30) also hold the top standing on the MW’s season top-time chart.

On the diving side, junior Montse Moreno brings UNLV team-best scores on the year in the 1-meter (308.70), 3-meter (299.70) and on the platform (184.65) into the week.

Fans can enjoy the action via livestream on the Mountain West Digital Network and through the live results links on the MW Championship Central page. It can also be followed through the league’s social media channels on Twitter (@MW_OlySports), Facebook (MountainWestConference), and Instagram (MountainWestConference) for each day’s event updates. Followers are encouraged to use the hashtag #MWSD when posting throughout the week.

QUOTABLE: “We are very excited to host the Mountain West Championships here in Las Vegas. So much has gone into preparing for this moment and we’re even more ecstatic to be able to compete in this event.”-Head coach Ben Loorz

NEXT UP: The Rebel men swimmers will join their women’s counterparts in hosting postseason action with the 2021 WAC Men’s Swimming Championships at Jim Reitz Pool from Feb. 24-27. This will mark the first time since a four-year span from 1992-95 that UNLV is the landing spot for the WAC competition. In addition, the Scarlet and Gray’s diving squad will hit the road for the 2021 WAC Diving Championships being held at Northern Arizona from Feb. 25-27.