Grant Earns MWC Swimmer of the Week

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - UNLV senior Kyle Virva and Wyoming senior Mark Murdock have been named Mountain West Conference Men's Swimmer and Diver of the Week, respectively, while BYU senior Rachel Grant and Wyoming senior Allie Smith earned women's swimming and diving honors, respectively.

Virva, a product of Nevada City, Calif., won two individual events on Saturday to lead UNLV to a 138-123 upset at Arizona, which finished the 2009-10 season ranked No. 1 in the nation. The Rebels also posted a 206-55 victory over Arizona State in the tri-meet to start the season at a 2-0 mark. Virva posted the 10th-fastest time in the nation this season in the 200-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 1:39.84 to win the event. The senior posted a time of 45.41 in the 100-yard freestyle, which ranks 12th nationally this year. He also swam the second leg of the Rebels' 400-yard freestyle relay that finished in an NCAA-best time of 3:00.44.

Murdock, from Flower Mound, Texas, swept the springboard events in Wyoming's home-opening victory vs. Mesa State (169-121) on Friday. The senior tallied a score of 359.25 on the 3-meter springboard to pace the field in the event. Murdock also earned the gold medal on the 1-meter springboard with a score of 338.40.

Grant, a native of Walnut, Calif., led BYU to a first-place finish in last week's Pacific Invitational with a team score of 1,228 points. The senior swept the individual medley events, clocking times of 4:19.12 in the 100-yard IM and 2:03.52 in the 200-yard IM. Grant, who added a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly (2:00.34) to her list of individual honors in the meet, also led off for the Cougars' winning 400-yard freestyle relay (3:28.81) and 800-yard freestyle relay (7:39.98).

Smith, who hails from Sandy, Utah, set a Corbett Pool record on the 1-meter springboard, as the Cowgirls defeated Mesa State, 172-116 on Friday. The senior collected 307.50 points on the 1-meter board, which was 37 points more than her closest competition. Smith also placed second on the 3-meter board with a mark of 260.55.