Tom Paco-Pedroni takes no time in adjusting back to Rebels swimming

A year away from the UNLV swimming team did nothing to slow Tom Paco-Pedroni down.

The redshirt senior competed for an Olympic bid at the French Elite Nationals last spring, and now he’s started his final college season at a furious pace. After the Rebels first two meets the Nice, France, native has the best 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle times in the Western Athletic Conference, and the sixth best 100 freestyle time in the nation.

“Honestly, (the year is) going pretty well,” Paco-Pedroni said. “I’m just enjoying the process and doing the best I can. I’m having fun with it and we’ll see where it goes.”

Paco-Pedroni called stepping away from the Rebels last year to focus on training for the French Elite Nationals a “no-brainer.” The Olympics had been a long-held dream of his, and he wanted to give himself the best opportunity to achieve that goal.

So last year, training became his sole focus. He didn’t take any classes or compete with the team. He just focused on getting himself in the best shape for the Olympics Trials in the spring. He stayed on campus, hitting the pool nine times a week under the supervision of former UNLV interim coach Bobby Folan doing extra weight-lifting exercises.

When it finally came time to compete, Paco-Pedroni finished 12th in the 100-meter freestyle at the French Elite Nationals. His final time in the “B” Final was a 50.50 after swimming a 50.19 in the semifinals.

He also had the 11th-best 50 free time in the preliminaries with a 23.19.

“It was a good experience,” Paco-Pedroni said. “I didn’t get the results I thought I would get. I made some mistakes, but I’ve learned from those now.”

Paco-Pedroni is hoping to apply those lessons now to a senior year where he could continue to rewrite the UNLV record book. He already owns the top 100- and 200-freestyle times in Rebels history and his best 50 free time is .4 seconds off the school record.

He showed off his dominant form in the Rebels first two meets of the season against Utah and Brigham Young, winning four of his five individual events and placing second in the other. The performance earned him WAC Swimmer of the Week honors on Nov. 8, and the Rebels can only hope bringing the league’s best freestyler into the fold helps the team’s improve on its fourth-place conference finish from a year ago.

”We have a better chance in the conference this year, that’s for sure,” Paco-Pedroni said.

MORE SWIMMING & DIVING

Both the men’s and women’s teams will face stiff competition this week when they swim at the Mizzou Invite from Thursday through Saturday. Missouri’s men’s program is ranked 23rd and its women’s program is ranked 18th.

Senior Kristina Hendricks has led the women’s team early in the year, and her 100-breaststroke time of 1:03.61 is the second-best in the Mountain West. Her 200 individual medley time of 2:05.71 is also second-best in the conference.

VOLLEYBALL

The Rebels play two of their final three matches this week, as the team attempts to close strong and regain the top spot in the Mountain West standings.

UNLV (22-5, 11-4 Mountain West) is currently third in the conference standings and two games behind both Boise State and Colorado State.

The Rebels have a Wednesday match at San Diego State (14-14, 6-8 MW) before a critical home meeting with UNR (18-8, 9-5 MW) on Saturday.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.