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MEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: OCT. 31-NOV. 6
Grand Canyon's Mark Nikolaev and Pietro Hufnagel Toscani have been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 31-Nov. 6.
Nikolaev, a junior from Seltso, Russia, led Grand Canyon with four individual wins and contributed to two winning relays. As the relay lead off with the 100 back he finished with a time of 47.49 which was a DI B Cut time and the fastest in the WAC this season. This swim was also ranked the best swim of the meet. His individual 100 back time of 47.73 was ranked second in the meet. With those top two swims, he also added a victory in the 200 individual medley (1:52.10), 200 back (1:49.17) and 400 individual medley (4:01.35) as well as being the lead off again with a 50 back (21.66) which helped his team get first in that relay.
Hufnagel Toscani, a sophomore from Sao Paulo, Brazil, led his team with four individual first place finishes. In the two times he competed in the one-meter event he improved on his score of 296.03 to a 315.15 in the two day meet against Air Force. He also improved his score on the three-meter board going from a 311.33 to a 326.55.
WOMEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: OCT. 31-NOV. 6
Grand Canyon's Alyssa Christianson and Northern Arizona's Tatiana Kurach have been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 31-Nov. 6.
Christianson, a sophomore from Montrose, Colo., led her team by winning all four of her individual events and was on two winning relays as well to help secure first place for GCU over both Idaho and Air Force. Her time of 1:04.90 in the 100 breast ranks first in the WAC for this season as well as her time of 2:05.56 in the 200 individual medley. A 4:30.92 time in the 400 individual medley and 2:20.29 in the 200 breast was enough for two more first place individual finishes for her team. She then joined her relay team and contributed to the breast leg of the 200 medley relay (29.27) and 400 medley relay (56.80).
Kurach, a junior from Saint Petersburg, Russia, contributed to her team as they came out victorious over Air Force. She placed second in the one-meter board with a score of 288.08 and third in the three-meter board with a finish of 285.75. Kurach had a near school record performance to help her team defeat WAC rival Idaho. She won the one-meter event with a score of 328.88. Her score was a career-best and was less than four points off the school record. Kurach then placed third in the three-meter event with a score of 309.83.
OTHER ATHLETES OF THE WEEK NOMINEES
Other men's swimmer nominees: Air Force's Steffen Mount helped his team win with first place individual finishes in the 50 free (20.52) and the 100 free (45.28) as well as helped his relay team finish first in the 200 free (1:22.12 and 400 free (3:02.43)…CSU Bakersfield's Loren Gillilan finished first in the 50 free (21.02), 100 free (46.16) and 100 fly (49.07) events… Seattle U's Greg Raper individually finished first in the 50 free (20.79) and 100 free (46.32) as well as helped his relay team win the 400 free (3:09.89).
Other women's swimmer nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Jayssie Haynes individually came in first in the 200 free (1:53.82), 200 breast (2:21.22) and 400 medley (4:29.54) events and helped her team finish first in the 200 medley (1:49.20) in the meet against Cal Baptist… Northern Arizona's Kimmy Richter finished the week with three individual first place finishes (1,000 free-10:36.46, 200 free-1:52.92 and 500 free-5:06.13) and two first place relay finishes which included the 200 medley (1:47.28) and 400 free (3:35.60) in the meets against Air Force and Idaho… Seattle U's Paige Treff individually finished first in the 50 free (23.57) and 100 free (51.93) and helped her relay team in a first place finish in the 200 medley (1:50.62) and second in the 400 free (3:35.21).
Other men's diver nominee: CSU Bakersfield's Adam Estrella finished third in both the one-meter board (241.28) and three-meter event (255.75).
Other women's diver nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Hannah Chernabaeff finished second in both the one-meter board (217.88) and three-meter board (223.43) against Cal Baptist… Grand Canyon's Menna Elmidany qualified for the NCAA Diving Championships in the three-meter event scoring 293.55 which broke a school record as well as breaking the school record for the one-meter event with a score of 260.03.
THIS WEEK IN WAC SWIMMING AND DIVING
AIR FORCE
After the second day of competition in a dual meet against Grand Canyon University on Saturday, November 4, the Air Force men's swimming and diving team beat the Antelopes, 257-228. The Falcons improved to 5-2 on the season. Highlights of the morning included senior Lars Knutson stepping up to win both sprint events on the day, swimming the 50 freestyle in 20.86 and 100 freestyle in 45.80. Junior Collin Green dominated the distance events by claiming victory in the 1650 freestyle (16:02.63) and the 500 freestyle (4:37.61). Walking away with the final win of the meet, the 400 freestyle relay team consisting of junior Steffen Mount, senior Joey Gebhart, senior Michael Hannigan, and sophomore Cole McAnany swam for first in 3:02.43. Grand Canyon's lineup included two of the fastest athletes in the conference, which elevated Air Force's performances. The top Falcons racing to second-place finishes included sophomore Kyle Bundesmann in the 400 IM (4:02.67), sophomore Zach Nelson in the 100 breaststroke (57.70), Gebhart in the 100 backstroke (50.56), and Mount in the 200 freestyle (1:40.68) and 100 butterfly (50.12).
CSU BAKERSFIELD
The Roadrunner men's swimming and diving team suffered a dual meet loss on the road at the hands of future Western Athletic Conference member Cal Baptist. CSU Bakersfield's young squad put up a good effort, but fell to the Lancers 169-131. The freshmen led the way.Kris Rogic and Loren Gillilan came out on top. Kris won his two individual events and Loren won his three. Other top performers today were Benji Duenas and Justice Kramer. Rogic, a native of Zagreb, Croatia, earned victories in both the 100 back (50.77) and 200 back (1:50.93), the latter of which was a season-best by almost a whole second. Gillilan, a fellow freshman, took wins in the 50 free (21.02), 100 free (46.16), and 100 fly (49.07). His time in the 50 free was a tenth faster than his previous best while his 100 fly improved by almost three tenths of a second.Duenas, a freshman competing in his hometown of Riverside, placed third in the 400 IM with a time of 4:09.13 as well as the 200 fly at 1:54.84. A junior from Federal Way, Wash., Kramer won the 200 fly with a season-best 1:52.99. Adam Estrella, a freshman diver, improved his PR on the 3-meter board to 255.75 in a third-place finish. He also finished third in 1-meter (241.28).
CSU Bakersfield's women's swimming and diving team took on future Western Athletic Conference member Cal Baptist on the road on Saturday and the Roadrunners came out victorious. The Lancers put up a good fight, but the `Runners held them off for a 158.5-141.5 win. Once again the ladies looked to Jayssie Haynes for three wins. Maddie Cosgrove also continues to dominate in the 200 fly, swimming her best in-season time. Alyssa Madero also had an in-season best time in the 200 back. Hannah Chernabaeff getting second on both boards also helped our victory. A sophomore from San Jose, Calif., Haynes earned three more victories to bring her dual-season total to 10 wins in 15 races. She took the 200 free in 1:53.82 before winning the 200 breast with a time of 2:21.22. Haynes capped off the meet with a victory in the 400 IM (4:29.54), winning by almost seven seconds. She also kicked the dual off with a 200 medley relay victory (1:49.20) with Madero, Isabella Magalong, and Taylor Cossu. Cosgrove, who hails from San Diego, Calif., won the 200 fly with a time of 2:06.38, four seconds faster than her closest competitor. Madero finished second in the 200 back with a mark of 2:06.11. Chernabaeff, a graduate of Frontier High School in Bakersfield, earned 217.88 points on the 1-meter board before posting a score of 223.43 on the 3-meter board.
GRAND CANYON
The Grand Canyon men's and women's swimming and diving team competed this past weekend in their first home meet of the season at Fr Edward J. Reese Aquatic Center at Brophy Catholic College Preparatory. The men's team was defeated 257-228 by the Air Force Academy after squaring off with the Falcons for a two day meet on Friday and Saturday afternoon. The women found themselves victorious for the fourth consecutive meet, defeating Air Force on Saturday with a final score of 142-101. Despite trailing the Falcons following the completion of Friday's events, Head Coach Steve Schaffer had high hopes for his team going into Saturday, praising the Lopes divers for keeping Grand Canyon within reaching distance of the Falcons. Pietro Hufnagel Toscani found himself on top in both diving events. The sophomore diver from Sao Paulo, Brazil, took first in both the the 1-meter (296.03) and 3-meter (311.33) events. Sophomore Nick Benson(273.15) and senior Michael Winfrey (261.75) followed Hufnagel Toscani, by placing second and third in the 3-meter. Another name you heard a hand full of times, was junior Mark Nikolaev. The Russian native finished first in three different events, by winning the 200 Yard Backstroke (1:49.17), 200 Yard IM (1:52.10) and contributing in the 400 Yard Medley Relay (3:17.01) with Youssef El Kamash, Daniil Antipov and Mazen El Kamash.
The Lopes swam hard on day two of the men's meet vs Air Force. Coach Schaffer hoped to see much of the same success on Saturday, as he had seen the day before. Pietro Hufnagel Toscani made a splash placing first back to back days in the 1-meter (315.15) and 3-meter (326.55) dives, beating his already commanding scores from the previous day. Youssef El Kamash, Mark Nikolaev and Daniil Antipov stood out this weekend as well. Antipov, with the ‘daily double', won both the 100 Yard Butterfly (48.68) and 200 Yard Freestyle (1:39.96). Nikolaev took first in the 400 Yard IM (4:01.35) and El Kamash won the 100 Yard Breaststroke (56.63) while all three helped contribute to a first place finish in the 200 Yard Medley Relay (1:28.82). The women's swimming and diving team showed toughness and grit following a Friday afternoon victory over Idaho by defeating the Air Force Academy 142-101 on Saturday. Estella Davis Ortiz took first in the 100 Yard Butterfly (56.59) and 100 Yard Backstroke (56.74) and contributed to the first place finish in the 200 Yard Medley Relay (1:44.23) with Diana Jaruseviciute, Samiha Mohsen and Alyssa Christianson. In addition to the team victory in the 200 Yard Medley Relay, Christianson capped off a fantastic weekend, placing first in the 400 Yard IM (4:30.92) and the 100 Yard Breaststroke. Jaruseviciute finished first in the 100 Yard Freestyle (52.06) while Mohsen won the 50 Yard Freestyle (23.54). Despite the Lopes not being able to sweep the weekend in the win column, Coach Schaffer was very proud of how his team competed against Air Force.
IDAHO
The University of Idaho Vandals fell to the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Friday at home. The final score was 172.5-126.5. The meet started with 3-meter diving where Nikki Imanaka picked up a third place finish and Indiya Williamspicked up a fifth place finish. Magrino notched two first place finishes in the 100 and the 200 backstroke. Peseux finished first in both the 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley and second in the 200 breaststroke. Fisk had two second place finishes in both the 500 and the 200 freestyle.
The University of Idaho Vandals earned a convincing Western Athletic Conference (WAC) sweep of Seattle University and Cal-State Bakersfield on Saturday at the UI Swim Center. The Vandals defeated Cal-State Bakersfield 168 to 118 and Seattle U 186 to 96 to raise their WAC record to 4-1. The Vandals were sparked by an impressive start in the 3 meter diving, led by Janelle Lucas with a score of 313.42. The relays were particularly strong, sweeping both the 200 medley and 400 freestyle. Allie Magrino (100 back) and Leah Fisk (500 freestyle) won individual races for the Vandals. The difference today was Idaho's depth. Through the first two weeks of head-to-head competition, the Vandals have won four of six meets.
NORTHERN ARIZONA
The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team broke free of Air Force midway through Friday's dual meet and wound up cruising to a 171-129 victory in the front half of a back-to-back weekend slate in the Aquatic and Tennis Complex. The Lumberjacks won their second consecutive dual meet to open the season, earning 10 event victories including five one-two finishes. The ‘Jacks led by just five, 68-63, through the first seven events, but juniors Christina Torrente and Tatiana Kurach's one-two finish on the 1-meter springboard extended NAU's advantage to double-digits that never dropped below the 16-point margin at the time. Torrente, the reigning WAC Diver of the Week, was one of four Lumberjacks to win multiple events in Air Force's first visit to Flagstaff since 1988. Torrente won the 1-meter event with a score of 288.08 and then crushed the field on 3-meter with a score of 322.28. She was the lone competitor to cross 300 points on the 3-meter springboard. Senior Alina Staffeldt won both butterflies and redshirt junior Monique King won the 200 and 500 freestyles. Freshman Niamh McDonagh also won two events for the second consecutive meet, claiming first in the 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley. After Air Force won the 200 medley relay to start the meet, senior Kimmy Richter posted a time of 10:36.46 to win the 1,000 free with freshman Sam Milewski picking up the runner-up points. NAU's two distance swimmers were the only two to go sub-11 minutes in the first individual event. King followed with her first of two wins in the 200 free with a time of 1:54.08, but the Falcons responded by earning first in the next two events - the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke. Staffeldt (2:04.90) and Richter (2:06.58) momentarily steadied the ship with a one-two finish in the 200 fly, before Air Force won the 50 free going into the first break. There, Torrente and Kurach started the NAU rout on 1-meter with junior Raquel Gonzales also picking up points in fourth. Senior Roni Houck continued the momentum in the 100 free, touching the wall in 52.45 to win the event by .02 seconds. The Lumberjacks then counted the Falcons' win in the 200 backstroke by taking second, third and fourth. The ‘Jacks followed with five straight event wins with McDonagh winning both of her events in that span in the 200 breast (2:25.81) and 200 IM (2:09.27). King (5:02.77) and Milewski (5:10.53) went one-two in the 500 free and Staffeldt also won the 100 fly (57.15). Also included in that stretch was a near sweep of the top four spots on the 3-meter springboard by NAU's divers. Behind Torrente were Gonzales and Kurach in second and third respectively with junior Olivia Payne finishing just three-tenths of a point behind fourth place. NAU has now won all four of the diving events through the first two meets.
The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team won the first four events and 13 in all to ensure that Senior Day was a rousing success in a commanding 173-122 victory over Idaho. The win was NAU's third straight dual meet victory in a row to open the season, accomplishing the feat for the first time in four years. Claire Hammond, Roni Houck, Allison Mann, Audrey Mann, Kimmy Richter and Alina Staffeldt were all honored during the meet, and Senior Day proved to be a highlight with the Lumberjacks' dominance over the Vandals - a team they will see again in February at the WAC Championships. Houck, Richter and Staffeldt accounted for four of NAU's 13 event wins, with Richter winning a pair of events in the 200 and 500 freestyles. Considering it was Senior Day, an added bonus was that the NAU divers - who do not have a senior among their unit providing not only a bright present but an even brighter future - continued their early season superiority picking up two more victories on the springboards. The Lumberjacks are now a perfect six-for-six in dual meet diving events. Junior Tatiana Kurach had a monster performance to win the 1-meter event, posting a score of 328.88 that was less than four points shy of Taryn Harris' school record set in 2011. She was not the only highlight in the event though as junior Olivia Payne recorded her first career NCAA Zone qualifying score of 273.53. Junior Christina Torrente wound up the 3-meter winner with a score of 323.10, collecting her third event win of the weekend. The Lumberjacks swept the top spots in the 200 medley relay to open the meet and they were off to the races. Freshman Sarah O'Connor, freshman Niamh McDonagh, Richter and junior Andrea Schmidtclocked a winning time of 1:47.28 with NAU's ‘B' team finishing right behind at 1:47.73 ahead of Idaho's ‘A' relay. Freshman Sam Milewski then cruised to a win in the 1,000 freestyle by almost 25 seconds in a time of 10:38.71 before Richter and redshirt junior Monique King swept the top two positions in the 200 free. O'Connor then won her first of two events in the 100 backstroke with a time of 57.06. By the time the Vandals posted their first event victory in the 100 breaststroke, NAU was already ahead 53-21. Schmidt and freshman Maddie Seidl responded by going one-two in the 200 fly and the Lumberjacks closed the first half of the meet with freshman Elisa Rodriguez, Staffeldt and sophomore Fernanda Montiel going one-two-three in the 50 free. After Kurach's near record performance on 1-meter, Houck (52.39) and O'Connor (2:06.22) won the 100 free and 200 back respectively. Idaho claimed the 200 breast, only for the Lumberjacks to go one-two in the next two events. Richter posted her second event victory of the day with a time of 5:06.13 in the 500 free with Milewski in second, and Staffeldt touched the wall in 57.49 to win the 100 fly with Schmidt behind her. Torrente won the 3-meter springboard and McDonagh got to the wall first in the 400 IM in a time of 4:35.12 by over nine seconds. Idaho closed the meet with a win in the 400 free relay.
NOTHERN COLORADO
Northern Colorado earned a thrilling victory Friday night as they topped Wyoming 126-117 for their first dual victory of the season. The meet came down to the 13th and final event, the 200 freestyle relay, with UNC needing to touch the wall first to win the dual. The team of Valeria Mihhailova, Sydney Kovar, Emily Hamel and Jessica Sanford finished with a time of 1:37.99, out touching Wyoming by just .34. Northern Colorado took first place in eight of the 13 events. They also grabbed four second place and five third place finishes. Freshman Ioanna Sacha was the top performer for the Bears earning first place in the 200 back, 200 breast and was a member of the 200 medley relay team, helping her team earn 27 team points. Sacha swam a time of 2:02.36 in the 200 back, 2:25.14 in the 200 breast and helped her winning team swim a time of 1:46.78 during the 200 medley relay. Sophomore Emily Hamel beat everyone to the wall in the 50 sprint free. She was the only one to touch in less than 25 seconds with a time of 24.69. Freshman Petra Kis chipped in with a pair of individual victories in the 400 IM and 200 fly. Kis bested the field by more than four seconds in the 400 IM with a winning time of 4:41.08. Her winning time was 2:10.50 in the 200 fly with teammate Hallie Peterson coming in second. Katie Stover and Holli Johnson finished one-two for the Bears in the 500 free as Stover got the win in a time of 5:15.40. On the diving platform, Allyson Wood was the only Bear to score team points on the 3 meter platform with a fourth place finish. During the 1 meter competition two Bears were able to score as Sarah Parshall took fourth and Wood was fifth.
After an emotional win the night before at Wyoming, Northern Colorado was not able to swim as well as they needed to Saturday afternoon as they fell to Houston by a score of 215-84 at Butler-Hancock Pool. UNC had a pair of first place finishes. In one of the most exciting races of the day, Sydney Kovar pulled ahead near the end to win the 1650 freestyle in a time of 17:34.26. Holli Johnson also came from behind to earn a third place finish for the Bears. Kovar would add a second place finish in the 500 free with a time of 5:13.50 and a third place in the 100 free with a time of 54.69. Freshman standout Ioanna Sacha touched the wall first in the 200 backstroke in 2:02.75, just over a second ahead of her nearest competitor. Sacha was just barely edged out in two other races, missing first place by less than .15 seconds in both. She finished with a time of 57.12 in the 100 backstroke and a time of 2:08.50 in the 200 IM. Petra Kis finished second in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:08.97 and Emily Hamel chipped in with a second place in the 50 sprint free by touching in a time of 24.87. In the diving competition, Allyson Wood took fourth and Sarah Parshall fifth in the 3-meter competition. On the one-meter board Wood would take third and Parshall fourth place.
SEATTLE U
Seattle University men's swimming dismantled Simon Fraser, 185.5-73.5, Saturday afternoon. Five different Redhawks won individual races to lead SU in the home opener at the Connolly Complex. Ben Nussbaum won three races, while Greg Raper, Morgan Montemayor, and Jack Baldoni each won twice Saturday. Nussbaum put together a strong day, winning the 100 breaststroke with a time of 58.42. He posted a victory in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:07.30 time. Nussbaum shared the 200 IM win as well, finishing in 1:55.68 to tie Rolando Hernandez of Simon Fraser. Raper finished in 20.79 seconds in the 50 freestyle, good for first place and seventh in program history. Isaac Parker and Ian Keane touched second and third, respectively. In the 100 freestyle, Raper won with a 46.32 performance. Both of Raper's times were personal bests. Crossen claimed second in the race. In the 100 backstroke, Montemayor swam a 51.63 to claim gold. He also won the 200 backstroke, recording a 1:55.19 in the event. In the 200 butterfly, Baldoni swam a 1:54.53 to win the event. Shawn Fujii followed with a second-place finish. Baldoni was the winner in the 100 butterfly, notching a 49.46. Mitchell Crossen won the 200 freestyle, tallying a 1:41.96 to touch first. Alex Roderickfinished in 1:42.01, the seventh-fastest time in school history. In the 200 medley relay, Morgan Montemayor, Ben Nussbaum, Jack Baldoni, and Crossen teamed up to win with a 1:34.29 showing. The 400 freestyle relay team of Crossen, Raper, Zach Zenteno, and Jake Goguenswam a 3:09.89 to take gold.
Seattle University women's swimming dropped a tight decision, 132.5-125.5, against Simon Fraser Saturday afternoon. Paige Treff and Madi Lydig were both two-time winners for the Redhawks at the Connolly Complex. The teams battled evenly throughout the day, with the score coming to a tie entering the final race of the meet-the 400 freestyle relay. Simon Fraser touched first to claim the team decision Saturday. Treff touched first with a 23.57 in the 50 freestyle, establishing a new Connolly Complex record. She won the 100 freestyle with a 51.93 showing. In the 100 backstroke, Lydig won with a 58.85 time. Allison Plamondon and Maddie Dickman finished second and third, respectively. Lydig won the 200 backstroke with a 2:03.00.The 200 medley relay team of Jennifer Wong, Margaux Thompson, Bryn Lasher, and Treff combined to win with a time of 1:50.62 Saturday.
UNLV
The Rebel men lost by a score of 188-107. Freshman Grant Nogan won the Rebels' first event, posting a time of 1:40.15 in the 200 free. Forrest Beesley took third in the race (1:43.09). Francsois Van Wynsberge was a close second in the 100 breast in 57.41. Avi Cohen was the runner-up in the 200 fly in 1:52.90. The Rebels went 2-3 in the 50 free, as Or Sabatier went 21.33 while Dylan Tarazona posted a 21.49 for third. scored 266.93 on the 1-meter board to place third. Beesley was the top Rebel finisher in the 100 free in 46.03. Van Wynsberge paced UNLV in the 200 breast with a second place swim (2:06.46). Norgan posted a 4:43.40 in the 500 free to finish second. Tarazona finished second in the 100 fly (49.61). had the top UNLV score on the 3-meter board (288.15), good for second. The 200 free relay team of Beesley, Sabatier, Mark Theall and Tarazona turned in a time of 1:22.41 and would earn first place points.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2018 WAC Swimming and Diving Championship returns to Houston, Texas. Last year Air Force won its second straight WAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championship while Northern Arizona took home the women's crown for the fourth straight year.