Eastern Michigan Pulls Ahead After Day Two of Mid-American Conference

2016 MEN’S MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 2- Saturday, March 5, 2016
• Jones Natatorium, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan (Central Time Zone)
• Wednesday Timed Finals 7PM, Prelims 11AM / Finals 7PM (Thurs-Sat.)
• Defending Champion: Eastern Michigan (2015 results and recap here.)
• Live Results
• Championship Central, @MACSports: Twitter/Instagram | #MACtion
• MVC Teams: Missouri State Bears, Eastern Michigan Eagles, Buffalo Bulls, Southern Illinois Salukis, Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, Ball State Cardinals, Evansville Purple Aces.

Day two of the Mid-American Conference featured two returning Champions successfully defending their titles, and showcased three Pool Records being set, with one of them also being a Meet and Conference Record.  The team race is also heating up with several teams flexing their muscles in events where they carry tremendous depth, making the MAC Championship in 2016 as dramatic as ever.

500 FREESTYLE

1. Till Pallman, SR, Southern Illinois 4:18.16  *(Conference, Meet and Pool Record.)
2. Kyle Lichtenberg, JR, Eastern Michigan 4:23.28
3. Miguel Davila, SR, Missouri State 4:25.88

Southern Illinois’ Till Pallmann has now won the 500 freestyle at the MAC Championship over all four years of his career, turning in a faster time each year.  This year the Saluki crushed the Conference, Meet and Pool records in the event, dropping well over a second from the 4:19.68 he set last year to bring the mark down to 4:18.16.  The nearest competitor, EMU’s Kyle Lichtenberg, was just over five seconds behind at 4:23.28, followed by Missouri State’s Miguel Davila at 4:25.88 for third.    Eastern Michigan’s JF Murphy (4:27.18,) SIU’s Michael Wolfe (4:27.69) and Buffalo’s Reid Zyniecki (4:27.76) all finished close together to claim 4th through 6th.  Missouri State landed 7th and 8th with Ethan Bresette and Minki Kang finishing in 4:29.41 and 4:29.89 respectively.  The Bears and the Eagles each scored six swimmers in this event, but Missouri State took the lead in team score by ten points when the dust settled.

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

1. Uvis Kalnins, SR, Missouri State 1:44.67  *(Pool Record.)
2. Andrew Henry, SR, Eastern Michigan 1:46.01
3. Artur Osvath, FR, Missouri State 1:46.63

Uvis Kalnins successfully defended his MAC title in the 200 IM for the third time, setting a Pool Record in the process with his 1:44.67 finish.  That time does not lower the MAC Record he set last year, but served to lead a strong IM contingent for the Bears that increased their lead to 26 points.  Eastern Michigan’s Andrew Henry was second in 1:46.01, followed by Missouri State’s Artur Osvath in third with 1:46.63.  SIU took 4th and 5th with a 1:47.44 from Filippo Dell’Olio and a 1:48.00 from Andre Luiz Brilhante, just edging in front of Missouri State’s Kacper Cwiek at 1:48.05.  EMU’s Jake Tyson (1:48.65) and Miami’s Ross Rybakowicz (1:49.26) completed the A-final in 7th and 8th.

50 FREESTYLE

1. Mason Miller, FR, Buffalo 20.03
2. Antonio Lanzi, SR, Buffalo 20.09
3. Joao Facciotti, SO, Southern Illinois 20.39

Buffalo teammates Mason Miller and Antonio Lanzi swept the top two places in the 50 freestyle, with their 20.03 and 20.09, putting a stamp on the event after finishing three tenths of a second ahead of any other sprinters in the field.  SIU’s Joao Facciotti claimed third at 20.39, just ahead of a four-deep Miami RedHawk sprint squad that finished together in a tight pack.  Miami’s Lucas Brock (20.46,) Jake Prodoehl (20.53,) Hutch Blackstone (20.57,) and Jack Strauss (20.65) claimed big points for the RedHawks by sweeping 4th through 7th places.  EMU’s Erik Brinkhoff closed out the A-final with 20.72.

1-METER DIVING

1. Alex Chan, JR, Eastern Michigan 359.35
2. Nick Rodriguez, JR, Buffalo 337.95
3. Peter Rusenas, SO, Eastern Michigan 336.20

Alex Chan has been the MAC Champion on the 3-meter springboard twice already in his career, but this is his first title on the 1-meter.  He led a squad of six scoring divers, five of whom placed in the top 8 places, making this event nothing short of a dominating performance.  As a matter of fact, between EMU and Buffalo, all other teams were shut out of the A-final for the event.  In addition to Chan, EMU divers Peter Rusenas (336.20,) Thomas Gillis (315.90,) Brendan O’Shea (298.35) and Daniel Gironza (260.70) finished 3rd, 4th, 6th and 8th respectively.  Buffalo divers Nick Rodriguez (337.95,) Troy Birdsall (310.60,) and Derek Linebaugh (295.15) were 2nd, 5th and 7th.  After diving was completed, Missouri State’s 27 point lead was moved to third place, with EMU now 52 points ahead and Buffalo 16.

200 FREESTYLE RELAY

1. Southern Illinois Salukis 1:19.74  *(Pool Record.)
2. Buffalo Bulls 1:20.26
3. Miami (Ohio) RedHawks 1:20.34

After seeing the results of the 50 freestyle earlier in the evening it was anticipated that Buffalo and Miami would field strong 200 freestyle relays, but it was Southern Illinois who took the title.  The Saluki team of Till Pallmann (19.92,) Joao Facciotti (20.05,) Lucas Aquino (20.25,) and Andre Luiz Brilhante (19.52) combined to form the only team to take the race below 1:20 for the night, claiming the Pool Record at 1:19.74.  Eastern Michigan and Miami had the lead over Buffalo until freshman Mason Miller anchored with the fastest split of the night, blazing a 19.40 to bring the Bulls ahead to claim second with 1:20.26 over the RedHawks’ 1:20.34 and EMU’s 1:20.67.  Missouri State was 5th with 1:21.76, followed by Evansville (1:23.68,) and Ball State (1:23.95) who closed out the A-final.

Team scores (after day two):

1. Eastern Michigan 279
2. Buffalo 247
3. Missouri State 225
4. Southern Illinois 181
5. Miami (Ohio) 179
6. Ball State 77
7. Evansville 74