2017 MEN’S MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
- March 1-4, 2017
- Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium, Carbondale, IL
- Hosted by Southern Illinois University
- 2016 Recap
- Championship Central
- Schedule of Events
- Record Book
- Day One Results (pdf)
- MAC Teams: Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Evansville, Ball State, Miami (OH)
Eastern Michigan has won the last two Mid-American Conference titles, with their 2016 win placing them nearly 200 points ahead of Buffalo and Missouri State who were left behind to battle for Runner-Up. The Eagles have been a consistent power for decades having won 33 MAC Championships, with Head Coach Peter Linn at the helm for 23 of them.
The 2017 MAC meet is certainly not a lock for EMU. Earlier this season Buffalo, who hasn’t won a MAC title since 2011, ended EMU’s 72 meet streak in MAC duals, adding a little extra spice to the friendly rivalry. Missouri State, the most recent team to defeat EMU for the Conference title in 2014, has the top ranked swimmer in seven events, but has zero divers on their roster, a curse that many feel has cost them this championship in the past when they have arguably out-swam the rest of the field but could not match Eastern’s diving power.
After the first night of MAC action, Missouri State and Buffalo are tied at the top with a first and third place finish each, while EMU and host team Southern Illinois are tied for third.
200 MEDLEY RELAY
- Buffalo University 1:26.88
- Southern Illinois 1:27.51
- Missouri State 1:28.30
Buffalo got out ahead and stayed there as the team of Hudson Carroll (22.40,) Itai De La Vega (23.91,) Mason Miller (20.54,) and Eric Jensen (20.03) combined for 1:26.88 to take the win. That time just missed the 1:26.79 MAC Record set in 2015 and held off a blazing split from SIU’s Andre Luiz Brilhante who anchored the Saluki’s to their Runner-Up finish with a 19.28 50 free. Eastern Michigan picked up fifth place points in the event, behind Miami’s fourth place finish at 1:28.45.
800 FREESTYLE RELAY
- Missouri State 6:26.98
- Eastern Michigan 6:34.03
- Buffalo 6:34.69
The Bears’ squad of Michael Mollak (1:36.64,) Kacper Cwiek (1:35.49,) Artur Osvath (1:38.42,) and Will Brand (1:36.43) absolutely dominated the 800 free relay, leaving EMU, Buffalo and Miami to battle for second and third place, just over seven seconds behind. With Buffalo taking third behind EMU, the Bears and the Bills would finish the session with a team score lead at 72 points. The Salukis settled for fifth in the event at 6:39.04, matching them with EMU for third place points on the night at 62.
Team scores after day one:
1. Missouri State/University at Buffalo 72
3. Southern Illinois/Eastern Michigan 62
5. Miami University (Ohio) 60
6. University of Evansville/Ball State University 50