UNLV Results
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Jan. 28, 2017) – Wyoming swimming and diving earned
victory on both the men's and women's side Saturday afternoon at the Buchanan Natatorium.
The Cowgirls won by a score of 195-103, while the Cowboys defeated the Rebels,
169-131.
The Cowgirls placed
first in 12 of the dual's 16 events, led by four Wyoming women who earned
multiple individual victories. Sophomore Samantha Burke notched the top time in the
100 back (56.92), one one-hundredth of a second faster than her teammate, senior
Abby Sullivan. Burke went on to win the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.47.
Sophomore Isobel Ryan tallied her first victory in the 50 freestyle (24.13) and
then matched the performance in the 100 freestyle (52.30). Junior Maria Harutjunjan once again swept the breaststroke events, clocking in at 1:02.91 in
the 100 and 2:17.38 in the 200. On the boards, freshman Karla Contreras placed
first on both the 1-meter (307.80) and the 3-meter (307.65).
"I thought today went
really well," UW head coach Tom Johnson said. "The divers were unbelievable and
I'm so proud of their efforts today. Karla's scores were outrageous. On the
women's side, we came out firing in the relay and then dominated the 1000
freestyle. Across the middle of the meet we really laid it on them and pulled
away. The women were outstanding and it was one of the better meets I've been a
part of. For the men, I thought we would perform better today but we still had
some great performances. Wade Nelson swam really well and Gabe Rooker went
nuts. All in all, I thought it was a great meet and it's a new season as we get
ready for conference championships."
The Cowboys earned
nine first-place finishes during the meet and also had four individuals with
multiple victories. Senior Ryan Ball recorded a season-best time in the 100
backstroke (51.19) and then repeated in the 200 backstroke (1:49.07). Senior
Gabe Rooker swept the breaststroke events, with times of 54.21 in the 100 and
2:00.11 in the 200. Junior Wade Nelson placed first in the 200 butterfly (1:49.87)
and then dominated the field in the 400 individual medley (3:58.36), finishing
more than six seconds faster than his competition. Redshirt-sophomore diver
Ryan Russi led the group of Cowboy divers which finished with the top three
scores in both events. Russi's scores of 304.70 on the 1-meter and 323.95 on
the 3-meter both marked new season bests.
The Cowgirls will
return to action at the Mountain West Championships, February 15-18, in College
Station, Texas. The Cowboys will then compete in the Western Athletic
Conference Championships February 22-25, in Houston, Texas.
