2025 ACROPOLIS SWIM OPEN

The 2025 Acropolis Swim Open entered day two last night in Athens with a €50,000  ($54,125) prize pool on the line.

Athletes’ performance is judged using the World Aquatics Point Scoring system, and they can also earn prize bonuses for breaking records. The top athletes across events (by stroke, and then by longer distances) will be awarded €350. Coach’s awards will be awarded by points compiled across their athletes.

The competition also represents an opportunity for swimmers to qualify for this summer’s World Championships in Singapore.

Day 2 Highlights

23-year-old Dimitrios Markos produced a near-lifetime best en route to winning the men’s 200m freestyle.

The 2024 European Championships finalist touched in a result of 1:46.62 to beat the field by just under a second.

He opened in 52.86 and closed in 53.76 to get to the wall ahead of teammate Konstantinos Eglezakis who settled for silver in 1:47.57, while Turkish swimmer Ahmet Boylu rounded out the podium in 1:49.09.

Markos’s career-swiftest outing rests at the 1:46.46 notched in Belgrade last year, so he was only .16 outside of that mark en route to taking the title here.

Additionally, he dipped under the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 1:46.70 needed to qualify for this summer’s World Championships.

Olympic medallist Apostolos Christou was also in the water last night, taking on the men’s 50m backstroke.

28-year-old Christou stopped the clock at a speedy time of 24.75.

That registered the sole sub-25-second time of the field, as Turkey’s Mert Satir turned in 25.44 and Evangelos Makrygiannis nabbed 25.52 for bronze.

Christou has been as quick as 24.36 in his career, a result he put on the books when winning gold at the 2022 European Championships.

His time here ranks him 12th in the world this season and also qualified him for Singapore, clearing the ‘A’ cut of 25.11.

Already the women’s 50m fly winner here, 29-year-old Anna Ntountounaki doubled up with a victory in the 100m distance.

Ntountounaki struck gold in a rapid 57.44, splitting 27.00/30.44 in the process. The result checks in as the 3rd-best of her career, sitting only behind the 57.25 logged at the 2020 Olympic Games and the 57.37 from 2021 in Budapest.

Anna Ntountounaki‘s Top 5 LCM 100 Butterfly Performances

1. 57.25, 2021
2. 57.37, 2021
3. 57.44, 2025
4. 57.62, 2024
5. 57.75, 2023 & 2021

Fellow Greek athlete Georgia Damasioti clinched silver in 57.99 for just her 2nd-ever foray under the 58-second barrier.

Amina Kajtaz of Bosnia & Herzegovina earned bronze in 58.96. 19-year-old World Championshps bronze medalist and University of Virginia commit Lana Pudar claimed 4th place.

The World Aquatics ‘A’ standard sits at 58.33, therefore, Ntountounaki and Damasioti both made the grade for Singapore.

A Greek national record went down in the women’s 200m IM, courtesy of Nikoleta Pavlopoulou.

The 24-year-old stopped the clock at a time of 2:15.23, overtaking the previous national standard of 2:16.17 she put on the books in 2019.

Additional Notes

• Germany’s Nicole Maier followed up her 100m freestyle victory from night one with a gold in the 200m free. She notched 1:59.69 to beat the pack by 2 seconds.
• Turkish Olympian Emre Sakci posted a time of 27.19 to take the men’s 50m breast just .01 ahead of countryman Nusrat Allahverdi‘s result of 57.20. Kazakhstan’s Aibat Myrzamuratov hit 28.05 as the bronze medalist.

DENVER — D’Evelyn’s boys volleyball team dominated the Class 4A Region 2 tournament Saturday.

The Jaguars swept to 3-0 victories over DSST: Conservatory Green and KIPP Denver Collegiate to punch D’Evelyn’s ticket to the 8-team 4A state tournament next week.

“It’s awesome,” D’Evelyn senior Elijah Osborne said. “We’ve been working for this for four years. Most of the players on the team have been with the program for at least three years. The blood and sweat we’ve put in has all led up to this. It feels awesome.”

It’s the fifth year that boys volleyball has been a CHSAA-sanctioned sport. It is the first year that there will be a 5A and 4A tournament. It will be the first trip to the state tournament for the Jaguars, which began their varsity program in 2021 when it had a 1-12 record. 

“This is amazing. I remember two years ago we were just like a new program,” said D’Evelyn’s setter Tarin Cavanaugh, who has played varsity for three years. “We went to regionals at Bear Creek and had a really tight match. I loved those seniors. It is great to fulfill their wishes and go to state for them.”

D’Evelyn (22-3 record) is a on a 7-game winning streak heading to the double-elimination state tournament that begins Thursday, May 8, at the Trojan Arena at the Fountain-Fort Carson campus. The 3-day state tournament will conclude Saturday, May 10.

The No. 2-seed Jaguars will open against No. 7 Stargate School (17-5). 

“We’ve got some hard competition,” Osborne said looking head to the state tournament. “I think Stargate is much better than they are ranked, but I have faith in my team. We have great chemistry.”

D’Evelyn and Stargate actually faced each other in the Jaguars’ season opener on March 4. D’Evelyn took a 3-1 victory.

All three of D’Evelyn’s loss this season came against 5A competition — Littleton, Castle View and Douglas County. Littleton is actually the No. 1 seed in the 5A state tournament.

“When we face adversity at state I believe we can figure it out and overcome it,” Cavanaugh said.

Cavanaugh has overcome wearing the colors and logo of his rival school over the past four years. The senior co-captain is actually a senior at rival Green Mountain High School. 

“It is a little hard,” Cavanaugh said of wearing the D’Evelyn jersey. “But honestly, I just love volleyball. It’s a fun game. I just love these kids too. I grew up with Elijah and Isaac (Osborne brothers), they live just across the street. I love the community and everything.”

There was a good contingent of Green Mountain students who sat behind the Jaguars’ bench to help cheer D’Evelyn onto the straight set 25-6, 25-13 and 25-20 victory over KIPP Denver Collegiate in the final match of the regional tournament.

“I just try to get everyone out there, especially my friends” Cavanaugh said.

D’Evelyn will bring a fairly senior-laded squad to state. The Osborne brothers have combined for more than 300 kills on the season. Senior Jaziel Lagarda is third on the team in kills.

“We’ve got to keep the tempo up,” Cavanaugh said of a key to have a good showing at the state tournament. “We just have to play our game. I know we can win.”

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – LMU finished the national runner-up at the 2025 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship Sunday morning after falling to TCU, 3-2, in the national championship match at Gulf Place Beach in Gulf Shores, Ala. The fourth-seeded Lions defeated Florida Atlantic, defending national champion USC and defending national runner-up UCLA prior to meeting the second-seeded Horned Frogs Sunday morning. 

LMU completed the 2025 campaign with a record of 38-7, a program best. The Lions took down the four-time defending national champions No. 5 seed USC in the quarterfinals before beating No. 1 seed UCLA in the semifinals. 

In the national championship match, the Lions got off to a hot start, taking three of the five first sets. TCU took control later in the match, winning on two of the first three courts to finish, securing a 2-1 lead. It came down to the first and fifth courts, both courts where LMU had won the first set. The Lions got it done on court five, tying the match at two. On the top court, the Lions were battling not only the No. 1 ranked player in the nation but also a pair that finished fifth for Spain the 2024 Summer Olympics. TCU won in three sets, clinching the national title. 

In the semifinal match against No. 1 seed UCLA on Saturday, LMU prevailed, 3-2. The match was a come-from-behind win for the Lions as UCLA went up 2-0 early. The Lions got on the scoreboard on court two with Vilhelmiina Prihti and Chloe Hooker picking up the win in straight sets. It came down to courts four and five, both courts where the Bruins won the first set. The Lions clawed back and won on both courts. Tanon Rosenthal and Giuliana Poletti Corrales clinched the match on court five. 

Earlier in the day in the quarterfinals, LMU handled the Trojans with a 3-1 victory. The Lions took control early, taking all first sets. Michelle Shaffer and Anna Pelloia clinched the win in three sets on court one. 

LMU got their memorable run started with a 3-0 sweep over No. 13 seed Florida Atlantic in the first round on Friday.