DENVER - After a second top-16 relay finish, UNLV tied for 26th place on Saturday night at the 2015 NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships. The three-day meet was held at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center on the University of Iowa campus,
Texas won the team standings with a final score of 528, while California was second with 399 points and Michigan third with 312. UNLV posted 20 points to finish in a tie for 26th place along with Florida State, and was the second-highest scoring non-Power Five school, behind BYU (23rd - 30 points). The 20 points are the sixth most scored by the Rebels in their 17 all-time trips to the national championships, while this marked the team's fifth top-30 finish in the past six years.
To start the final day of the meet, UNLV's Tom Paco-Pedroni nearly added a second scoring swim for the Rebels, as he finished in 18th place in the morning prelims with a time of 42.68. Wyoming's Adam Kalms also competed in the event finishing in 34th place overall with a time of 43.38.
Mitchell Huxhold of Bakersfield represented the WAC in the men's mile finishing 19th at 14:56.75, which was a personal best for the senior.
The Rebels' points on Saturday came from the final event of the meet, the 400 free relay. UNLV first set a new school and WAC record time in the morning preliminaries with a time of 2:51.97 to place 11th and earn a spot in the night consolation heat. In the night session, UNLV nearly matched its morning time, as it challenged for a top-three finish for the majority of the race before coming up short right at the end, settling for fifth in the heat and 13th overall with a time of 2:52.04. Earning Honorable Mention Relay All-American honors for the 13th place swim were junior Tom Paco-Pedroni, junior Dillon Virva, sophomore Or Sabatier and junior Henrique Machado.
Thursday, March 27
Prelims-11:00 a.m. CT
200 Free Relay-UNLV (Dillon Virva, Tom Paco-Pedroni, Or Sabatier, Henrique Machado); 10th, 1:17.12*
500 Free-Mitchell Huxhold, Bakersfield; 51st, 4:23.11
50 Free-Dillon Virva, UNLV; tie for 16th 19.39
50 Free-Tom Paco-Pedroni, UNLV; 37th 19.76
200 IM-Adam Kalms, Wyoming; 42nd, 1:45.87
*WAC Record
Finals-7:00 p.m. CT
200 Free Relay-UNLV (Dillon Virva, Tom Paco-Pedroni, Or Sabatier, Samuel Lameynardie); 11th 1:17.64
Friday, March 28
Prelims-11:00 a.m. CT
200 Medley Relay-UNLV (Henrique Machado, Boris Kulizhnikov, Dillon Virva, Or Sabatier); 21st, 1:26.69
100 Fly-Dillon Virva, UNLV; 40th, 47.24
200 Free-Adam Kalms, Wyoming; 18th, 1:34.22
200 Free-Tom Paco-Pedroni, UNLV; 36th, 1:36.41
200 Free-Mitchell Huxhold, Bakersfield; 39th, 1:37.76
100 Back-Henrique Machado, UNLV; 32nd, 47.16
Saturday, March 29
Prelims-11:00 a.m. CT
200 Back-Henrique Machado, UNLV; DFS
100 Free-Tom Paco-Pedroni, UNLV; 18th, 42.68
100 Free-Adam Kalms, Wyoming; 34th, 43.38
100 Free-Dillon Virva, UNLV; DFS
100 Free-Henrique Machado, UNLV; DFS
400 Free Relay-UNLV (Tom Paco-Pedroni, Dillon Virva, Or Sabatier, Henrique Machado); 12th, 2:51.97*
1650 Free-Mitchell Huxhold, Bakersfield; 19th, 14:56.75
*WAC Record
Finals-7:00 p.m. CT
400 Free Relay-UNLV (Tom Paco-Pedroni, Dillon Virva, Or Sabatier, Henrique Machado); 13th 2:52.04