LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Northern Arizona swimming & diving team capped a spectacular three days in Las Vegas at the UNLV Invitational on Monday, finishing third as a team with 616.5 points. The Lumberjack swimmers were paced by senior Alexis Juergens, who finished runner-up in the 200 fly, as well as a trio of athletes in the 1,650 freestyle top five.

"This was definitely our best day and this has been historically our best day," said head coach Andy Johns. "These were the events that helped us win a conference championship last year. We expected that we would get better each day, but there's a fine line between feeling better and feeling the effect of a lot of racing in a short period of time. Our girls are tired but they handled it well and they were tough all weekend long. I'm very pleased with the results and proud of their efforts."

The Lumberjacks finished behind host UNLV (877.5) and New Mexico (636.5) in the team standings, but were ahead of New Mexico State (554) – the only other WAC school in the field – among the eight teams. With each passing day, NAU got stronger and it showed on the final day despite battling with levels of fatigue.

The finals got started with the mile freestyle, the event in which NAU swept the top three spots at last season's WAC Championships. Swimming the mile for the first time this season, the Lumberjacks posted the strongest performance of any team in the event placing junior Kendall Brown, senior Caitlin Wright and freshman Kimmy Richter in the top five. Brown finished third with a time of 16:57.49 with Wright (16:59.90) and Richter (17:19.49) following in succession.

Juergens led another dominating performance by the 'Jacks in the 200 butterfly with her second-place finish with a time of 2:03.97. Both Brown and Richter earned their second top eight finish of the night placing seventh and eighth respectively. Brown posted a season-best time of 2:07.35 while Richter finished with a time of 2:11.64. NAU was not done in the event as freshman Alina Staffeldt claimed the consolation final, finishing ninth overall with a time of 2:05.54. Junior Eva Pold rounded out NAU's efforts in the event, placing 11th with her own season-best time of 2:06.20.

Sophomore Urte Kazakeviciute was NAU's top finalist in the 200 breaststroke, another event the Lumberjacks swept the podium at the WAC Championships in March, by shaving more than four seconds off her previous season-best at 2:17.01 and placing fourth on Monday. Freshman Melanie Harris joined her in the championship heat and improved two spots from her preliminary standing to finish sixth overall with a time of 2:20.42. Junior Monica Pruett won the B final with a time of 2:22.81, dropping her season-best by almost three seconds. Freshman Audrey Mann and junior Cassie Ronai also swam in the night finals placing 18th and 24th respectively.

Three Lumberjacks finished in the top 16 of the 200 backstroke led by sophomore Sara Lenhoff, who clocked a season-best time of 2:03.95 in the A final to finish fifth. Sophomore Jori Lindquist and freshman Claire Hammond placed 11th and 13th respectively with times of 2:04.71 and 2:05.98, both of which were season-bests. Junior Lindsay Clark-Warren (19th), junior Brooke Brittain (22nd) and freshman Allison Mann (24th) all competed in the C final.

In the 100 freestyle, freshman Roni Houck posted a time of 51.94, a season-best, to finish 11th overall. Redshirt junior Alex Huff finished two spots behind in 13th with her own season-best time of 53.07. Hammond placed 23rd.

The night's only relay event was the 400 free relay, which NAU's 'A' team of Lindquist, Hammond, Houck and Staffeldt placed 12th with a time of 3:34.85. The time was nearly two seconds faster than the squad's previous best.

While the three-day invitational was a great springboard for the rest of the season for the entire team, the meet provided the team's freshman class with valuable experience in a championship styled meet that will prove to be critical. Staffeldt, Harris, Hammond, Houck and Richter among the team's eight first-year swimmers all earned multiple appearances in the championship and consolation finals across the three days.

"The freshmen already earned pretty good experience in dual meets," Johns said. "This weekend was great for them. They're all learning how to swim in college and they're significant contributors to our team. We're going to need to rely on them as we continue. They've definitely been solid."

The 'Jacks will now embark on a trip to southern California where the team will train for the remainder of the week. The entire team will compete in a dual meet against the University of San Diego on Saturday to conclude the week at 12:30 p.m.