UNLV swimmers hope to splash into Okla.

February 26, 2009 by Matt Maxson 

Swim and Dive team hopes for another MWC title

The UNLV swimming and diving teams are headed to Oklahoma City to hopefully hoist some hardware after the four-day-long Mountain West Conference Championships. The Rebel men, currently ranked 24th in the nation, are in the hunt for their fifth straight MWC championship title after finishing the regular season with a school-record 11-1 and a perfect 5-0 record against MWC competition, while the UNLV women finished the season at 12-5 (5-3 in the MWC). 

The conference championships conclude on Saturday night in a neutral pool at the Oklahoma City Community College Aquatic Center.

Highlighting the UNLV men’s squad is a pair of distance swimmers, beginning with sophomore Kier Maitland, who is looking to defend his title in the 1650-yard free. He is seeded in going into this week’s championships, while classmate John Mendoza has the league’s top time so far this year. Nick Blank (100 back, 400 individual medley), David Seiler (100 fly), Andrew Morrell (200 breast) and Daniel Egly (200 fly) enter this week ranked first in the conference in their event.

On the women’s side of the championships, the 2008 runner-ups are looking to make a run at their second all-time title. Senior Amanda Weinbrecht, a returning champ, will attempt to defend her title in the 200 back. Key to UNLV’s chances on the women’s side will be newcomer Zsuzsanna Jakabos, who is currently ranked in the top four in three events, but is a serious threat to win multiple events.