Didn't take much to shake off young nerves.
 
Sophomore Tim Koza and freshman Isabella Parish helped pace the Grand Canyon University Club Swimming team to a 6^th-place finish at the 2024 College Club Swimming Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana. Koza, competing in his second national tournament, hit the wall first to take gold in the Men's 400 Individual Medley and also placed 4^th in both the Men's 200 IM and Men's 200 Breaststroke, while Parish dazzled in her first-ever national college spotlight, earning gold in the Women's 200 Breaststroke and a silver medal in the Women's 100 Breaststroke. Those performances helped the Lopes finish one spot higher than the 2023 national tournament, and placed them as the 2^nd-highest finisher in the western United States (behind 3^rd-place University of California-Berkeley).
 
"I wasn't really surprised at how they did because both of them were on track during the regular season to do some really amazing stuff at nationals," said Lopes' Head Coach Jeremy Phung. "Tim was the 400 IM national champion last year, so it was great to see him defend his title. Isabella was swimming great all season sweeping all breaststroke events at regionals. I was excited to see how she would perform at nationals, and she did not disappoint."
 
Both swimmers gave the Lopes a powerful shot in the arm on Friday's first day after the Lopes built steam by finishing 4^th and 5^th, respectively, in the Women's and Men's 800 Freestyle Relays. In the Men's 400 IM, Koza and Georgia Tech University swimmer Ryan Altera battled it out with Koza touching the wall with a time of three minutes, 59.7 seconds - just .19 of a second faster than Altera. While Parish's Women's 200 Breast race was somewhat tight, the Lopes' freshman still bested her nearest pursuer by over two seconds with a finish of two minutes, 21.07 seconds.
 
The Lopes' busiest and most productive day was Saturday, when after the Lopes' Women finished less than three seconds off the winning pace to take fifth in the Women's 200 Medley Relay, Koza finished 4^th in the Men's 200 IM, missing a gold medal by just over a full second. Parish was even closer to gold than that in the ensuing Women's 100 Breast, finishing just .68 of a second behind Ohio State University's Cate O'Haimhirgin to win the silver with a time of 1:05.90. Then the Lopes' Men finished the day by placing 4^th in the Men's 400 Free Relay.
 
The Lopes' Men and Women combined forces to top off Sunday's final day with their best relay finish of the tourney in the Co-Ed 200 Free Relay, with the combination of Claire Bigler, Emma Creager, Ryan Figaro and Joseph Moran taking the silver with a time of 1:30:38 – a half-second behind University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
 

 
The overall performance not only reinforced Phung's faith in his underclassmen but the overall balance of the team among different races.
 
"Often times, we are seen as a sprint program, but winning in events like the 400 IM and 200 breast definitely showcases our talent across the board," said Phung. "Having freshmen and sophomores winning keeps the team hungry and wanting more, but we also had a lot of upperclassmen, so it was fulfilling to watch them see their work flourish into a great finish at nationals."