Phoenix, Arizona – October 25, 2025
.
Grand Canyon University Club Swimming hosted their first home tournament of the year, the 4
th annual Desert Classic. Competing against three other Arizona schools– the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University – the Lopes showcased their depth across relay and individual events managing to take 1
st in combined team and women's categories, with the men's team placing 2
nd.
The meet opened with immediate momentum for the GCU women, as the 'A' squad in the 200-yard Medley Relay–
Emma Creager,
Julia Larsen,
Isabella Parish, and
Chloe Tainter– finished first in 1:52.37, comfortably clearing the National Qualifying Time. GCU continued to stack points with multiple relay entries finishing in the top four.
This tone carried into the men's 'A' relay team, as they placed second overall in the same event with a 1:39.74, led by
Levi Bertrand and
Fredrik Larsen. In addition, both the women's and men's 'A' team finished with National Qualifying Times in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay.
Several individual swimmers also notched qualifying times highlighted by
Alexis Hoblet in sprint freestyle, Maddy Lohse in the butterfly, and
Timothy Kenigsberg in the 100-yard butterfly.
Breaststroke proved to be a strength for GCU as well.
Isabella Parish claimed first in the women's 200-yard breaststroke with a national qualifying Time of 2:31.20, while
Levi Bertrand and
Fredrik Larsen finished first and third in the men's race. In the backstroke events,
Madison Logue won the Women's 200-yard Backstroke in 2:15.73, and
Fredrik Larsen followed with a victory in the Men's 200-yard backstroke, also hitting a national qualifying time.
Beyond results, the Desert Classic carried special meaning for the program.
"We wore pink for breast cancer awareness, and then we also did our senior appreciation," said GCU Head Coach
Jeremy Phung, recognizing his lone fall graduate
Kelsea Lemmel's four-year impact on the team.
At the meet, Lemmel added valuable points in the women's 200-yard and 100-yard freestyle events, while also providing steady support to her teammates from the deck and continuing to help sustain the Lopes' positive team culture.
"[Lemmel] came in with a lot of motivation and leaves behind a legacy… she does a great job pouring into the next group."
With College Club Swimming Western Regionals approaching, Phung emphasized the importance of the meet as preparation.
"This was our last meet before Regionals, so it was great prep and race reps to see where we stand," said Phung. "The team culture is coming along really well… it's always a better feeling going into Regionals when everybody has each other's backs."
The Lopes will now turn their focus to CCS Western Regionals in Mission Viejo, California on November 8
th and 9
th.
