FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 9, 2021) - The Lumberjacks will take on the Grand Canyon University Lopes this Saturday, as GCU will host Northern Arizona, Arizona Christian, and Ottawa University. The Lumberjacks will only compete and score against the Lopes in the meet.
This will be NAU's first full conference matchup, which will include both swimming and diving events at Saturday's meet. The last time the Lopes and the 'Jacks competed in the pool was back in February at the Western Athletic Conference Championships, where NAU brought home their eighth consecutive title. Grand Canyon placed third at the conference championships.
The Lumberjacks are coming off the Lumberjack Diving Invite as well as the A3 Performance Invite for swimming. NAU tied for first place at the A3 Performance Invite, which was a four day invite in Grand junction, Colorado. Maegan Jensen placed first in the 3m slate of the diving invite, while Victoria Knapp placed first in the 1m dives.
The 'Jacks will look to continue their momentum from the A3 Performance Invite, where freshman Casey Craffey placed an impressive first place in the mile, finishing at 16:55.44 and Helena Robla-Alvarez placed second finishing at 17:27.19. The long weekend in the pool brought many individual and team victories for NAU, as Sophie Velitchkov, Delaney Phillips, Caylah Jago and Robla-Alvarez brought in first place in the 400 medley relay.
GCU is heading into Saturday's meet just a week after they competed in the three day Miami (OH) Invitational in Oxford, Ohio. The Lopes finished second out of three in the invite, behind Miami, while beating Youngstown State. The invite brought GCU freshman Maria Brunlehner five school records, which earned WAC swimmer of the week. The Lopes are 5-5 on the season, while 3-1 in conference meets.
Saturday's meet will be held at the FR Edward A. Reese Aquatic Center, it will be the Lopes first competitive meet at home for the season. The meet is set to start at 1 p.m. MST.
