Missouri State Swimming & Diving Ready for Kansas Double Dual

SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams head to Lawrence, Kansas, for the Kansas Double Dual beginning on Friday, Oct. 23, at 5 p.m. Races take place on Friday and also on Saturday starting at 12 p.m. with the Bears’ women’s squad taking on Kansas and Denver, while the men face Denver at Robinson Natatorium.

Last Weekend Overview

Missouri State took down the Drury Panthers convincingly by the scores of 135-87 on the men’s side, while the women defeated the Panthers 150-87 in the ‘Duel in the Pool’ at Hammons Student Center Friday, Oct. 16.

The Bears won 17 of the 26 events with five Bears – Dora Kiss, Josie Pearson, Uvis Kalnins, Artur Osvath and Minki Kang – earning multiple-race victories.

The MSU swim teams owned the 200-yard races, earning a majority of the top-five finishes in the 200 free, 200 IM, 200 fly and 200 back.

The Bears’ men’s squad had the top four finishers in all four of the races, while the women’s team took down the Panthers by getting four in the top five in all the 200-yard races besides the 200 breast.

Missouri State swept both the men’s and women’s duals against Drury in the same meet for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Bears’ men’s team now holds a 16-15 all-time record in the series after winning their third consecutive matchup over the Panthers. The women’s team picked up its first win its last three tries over Drury and improved to 5-14 in all-time meetings versus the Panthers.

Last Season’s Double Dual

Several pool records were broken at Robinson Natatorium by the MSU men’s team despite a 28-point defeat to Denver at last season’s Kansas Double dual. The Bears broke three pool records on the first day of competition, then followed that with three more on the final day of action.

The men’s team had a solid opening day with the 100 breaststroke serving as one of the top individual events for the Bears.

Isaac Springer earned a top time (57.37) and finish, while Aaron Dennis placed fourth in a season-best time of 58.26. Other top times notched on the first day of action included a second-place time in the 1000 free by Miguel Davila (9:30.05), third-place honors for Isaac McKnight in the 50 free (21.74), a finish at 1:56.25 for Will Brand in the 200 fly and also Canaan Campbell with a personal-best 1:58.63 in the 200 butterfly. Springer also won the 200 breast while Uldis Tazans got third to highlight the Bears’ second day at the double dual.

Uvis Kalnins – who broke the Jayhawks’ pool records on the men’s side in the 200 IM and the 400 IM – was named the Mid-American Conference Swimmer of the Week following an impressive feat of being involved in four record-breaking efforts.

On the women’s side, the Bears fell to both the Jayhawks and the Pioneers. Dora Kiss swam a season-best mark in the 200 fly (2:05.50) by finishing in third place, while Anna Bump also placed third in the 50 free with a time of 24.31 on the first day of action. In the 100 back, both Sydney Zupan (58.42) and Emily Chesser (1:00.12) snatched season-best marks. Andi Burroughs beat her top time of the year in the 100 breast (1:09.35) for the Bears. Kiss and Zupan also picked up top-four finishes on day two of the double dual.

Kansas opened its season with an intrasquad meet on Oct. 2 and hosts its first dual action of the year when MSU and Denver visit Robinson Natatorium. The Jayhawks are led by head coach Clark Campbell, the father of MSU men’s swimmer Canaan Campbell. Kansas comes off a 2014-15 season in which the program finished third at the Big 12 Championships.

The Pioneers begin their third weekend of competition at the Kansas Double Dual after already hosting the Denver Relays and competing in duals versus Wyoming and Colorado State. Led by 10th-year head coach Brian Schrader, the Pioneers’ men’s and women’s teams have won back-to-back Summit League championships.

Bears Highlighting NCAA Division I Top 100 Times

The Missouri State swimming and diving teams have multiple performers that currently hold top 100 times among Division I swimmers. Seven men for the Bears make the list – which includes Uvis Kalnins, Minki Kang, Ethan Bresette, Artur Osvath, Christopher Heye, Isaac Springer and Kacper Cwiek – while Dora Kiss and Josie Pearson are in the rankings on the women’s side.

Men

Uvis Kalnins (50 free/32nd, 100 free/19th, 200 free/t36th, 100 back/66th, 200 back/58th, 100 breast/24th, 100 fly/68th, 200 IM/8th)

Minki Kang (500 free/92nd, 1000 free/60th)

Ethan Bresette (500 free/99th, 1000 free/97^th)

Artur Osvath (100 breast/43rd, 200 breast/26th, 100 fly/71st, 200 IM/53rd)

Christopher Heye (200 breast/73rd)

Isaac Springer (200 breast/78th)

Kacper Cwiek (200 IM, 62nd)

Women

Dora Kiss (500 free/75th, 1000 free/70th)

Josie Pearson (200 IM/98th)

Swimmer of the Week Round-up

The Missouri State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have combined to have four swimmers earn swimmer of the week honors through the first three weekends of events.

Senior Dora Kiss is the latest addition to the conference honorees list after the ‘Duel in the Pool’ versus Drury.

Kiss was named the Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer of the Week on Oct. 20 for winning all three events she took part in against the Panthers at Hammons Student Center. She won the 1000 free (10:24.34), 200 free (1:54.46) and the 500 free (4:59.09). All three of those finishes were among top-three times in the Missouri Valley Conference, including her season-best times she set in the 200 and 500 free.

Senior Uvis Kalnins and freshmen Arur Osvath and Josie Pearson have also earned swimmer of the week awards in their respective conferences.

Osvath was named the Mid-American Conference Swimmer on Oct. 12 after he earned five first-place finishes and had a runner-up showing in conference duals against Evansville and Southern Illinois. He won his first collegiate race in the 200 free (1:43.12) and his 2:03.44 finish in the 200 breast gave him the fastest time in the event among all MAC swimmers.

Kalnins was named the MAC Men’s Swimmer of the Week on Oct. 8 after an impressive 2015-16 start to his senior campaign by winning the 200 individual medley at the Show-Me Showdown. Kalnins took the 200 IM in a time of 1:49.16, only .07 seconds away from an NCAA ‘B’ standard in just the Bears’ first meet of the season. He also finished runner-up in both an individual and relay event.

Pearson was recognized as the MVC Swimmer of the Week by finishing with two top-10 finishes at the Show-Me Showdown. The freshman had one of the top showings for Missouri State at the meet by earning runner-up in the 100 butterfly (57.49). She earned seventh out of 50 swimmers in the 200 individual medley (2:07.94), placing behind five members of the host Tigers and a member of the NCAA Division II 2014-15 runner-up Drury squad.

Glancing at the Rankings

After beginning the season at No. 18 in the opening CollegeSwimming.com Rankings, the Bears’ men’s swimming and diving team is currently listed at No. 47 among Division I squads. The rankings utilize a point system based on NCAA time standards, predicted qualifying times and percentile rankings from the past four seasons.

Both MSU teams appear in the Division I Mid-Major Rankings.

The men’s squad sits in 15th with 653.62 points for its performance at the Show-Me Showdown, while the women’s squad is currently 36th in the team standings after earning 630.03 points in its dual versus Drury.

Men’s Swimming and Diving Second in Preseason Poll

The Missouri State men’s swimming and diving team was selected to finish second in the Mid-American Conference preseason coaches’ poll, announced Thursday, Oct. 1.

Behind a roster that returned 13 letterwinners and six all-conference performers with the addition of seven newcomers, the Bears received two first-place votes and were picked ahead of MAC members Buffalo, Southern Illinois, Miami, Ball State and Evansville. Eastern Michigan received five first-place votes and was selected as the preseason favorite to win the MAC Championship.

Swimming news courtesy of Missouri State Swimming & Diving.