Missouri State Swimming Opens Season With Evansville, Southern Illinois

Photo Courtesy: Missouri State

SPRINGFIELD, Missouri, October 9. The Missouri State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are set for their first two duals of the season, as the Bears travel to take on the Evansville Purple Aces on Friday, Oct. 10, at 3 p.m. and the Southern Illinois Salukis at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Last Meet Overview
Both the men’s and women’s teams finished third at the Missouri Show-Me Showdown on Friday, Oct. 3.

Senior Paul Le won two events for the Bears’ men’s side, swimming top times in the 100 back (48.89) and the 200 IM (1:48.47). Junior Miguel Davila earned a runner-up time in the 500 free, finishing the event in 4:34.80.

Junior Dora Kiss meanwhile had two of the top performances on the women’s side, finishing fourth in the 200 free in a time of 1:55.28 and third in the 500 free with a time of 5:06.29.

About the University of Evansville
The Bears take on the Evansville Purple Aces in their first dual of the season at 3 p.m. on Friday at the Roy and Mary Wyttenbach Pool in Evansville, Ind. The MSU men’s squad holds a 16-0 all-time record over Evansville, while the women are 12-2.

In last season’s meeting, the Bears’ women’s team dominated in the Hammons Student Center Pool, defeating the Purple Aces 142-95. MSU’s Kiss won both the 200 and 500 free events, while then-senior Renata Sander took top honors in the 200 IM and 100 breast.

The men finished the dual with a 131-103 victory over the Purple Aces, which included HSC record-breaking times by Le and Isaac Springer in the 50 free and 100 breast, respectively.

About Southern Illinois University
In their second dual of the season, the Bears head to Carbondale, Ill., to compete against the Southern Illinois Salukis at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium – which also serves as the site for the Missouri Valley Championship in February. The Bears are 14-11 against the Salukis all-time and the women are 8-10.

In last season’s meeting, the men’s team easily outdistanced themselves from the Salukis 148-95, while the women just slipped by Southern Illinois in a 121.5-119.5 dual win.

The Bears’ men’s squad won 10 events overall in the meet. Pool records were broken by Le and Uvis Kalnins, as well as the 400 relay team of Le, Kalnins, Isaac McKnight and Vitalii Baryshok. Kiss, Sander and Kate Gately earned event victories for the women’s side individually, while Gately, Janke Engelbrecht, Megan Holthoff and Shannon Myer teamed up to close the meet with a win in the 400 free relay.

Le Awarded Swimmer of the Week
MSU men’s swimming and diving senior Paul Le was recognized as the Men’s Swimmer of the Week by the Mid-American Conference for his performance at the Missouri Show-Me Showdown, announced by the conference on Monday, Oct. 6.

Le won both of the events he competed in individually at the Showdown and also helped two relay teams to fourth-place finishes. Swimming opposite the University of Missouri and seven other colleges, Le won the 200 IM in a time of 1:48.47 and the 100 backstroke with a time of 48.89. Le has now been awarded conference swimmer of the week six times in his career.

Freshmen Contributing Early
The Missouri State Bears swimming and diving teams had notable performances from their newcomers at the R=recent Show-Me Showdown.

Men’s freshman diver Brody Arvesen placed in the top-8 in both diving events, taking a team-best second in the 1-meter event with 320.80 points and seventh in 3-meter diving (220.40).

Women’s divers Melissa Maynard and Hannah Swyers each had top-10 performances, with Maynard finishing third in 1-meter diving (234.05) and Swyers eighth in 3-meter diving (223.10).

Freshmen Sydney Zupan and Hanna Flanagan each had noteworthy debuts for the Bears, with Zupan placing in the top-10 in the 200 free (1:55.97) and sixth in the 100 back (59.18). Flanagan swam the 100 fly in 59.62 seconds to finish seventh.

Men’s Swimming and Diving First in Preseason Poll
The Missouri State men’s swimming and diving team was selected to finish first in the Mid-American Conference preseason coaches’ poll, announced Friday, Oct. 3.

Following the Bears’ 19th conference championship in 2013-14 – and first as a member of the MAC – MSU was chosen among the conference’s head coaches for this year’s title, ahead of the likes of Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Miami, Southern Illinois, Ball State and Evansville.

Follow the Bears
Check out all the latest news and information on the Bears swimming and diving team at MissouriStateBears.com and follow @MOStateSwim for updates throughout the season.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World. To reach our audience, contact us at newsmaster@swimmingworld.com.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use