Men’s Swimmer of the Week
Artur Osvath, Missouri State
Freshman / Budapest, Hungary
Event & Time:
2. 200 IM / 1:47.57
2. 200 Breaststroke / 1:56.39
3. 100 Fly / 48.27
3. 400 Free Relay / 3:01.38
3. 400 Medley Relay / 3:16.99
4. 100 Breaststroke / 54.61
4. 200 Medley Relay / 1:29.56
Missouri State’s Artur Osvath earned four NCAA consideration times and broke a school record in the Bears’ appearance at the Purdue Invitational from Nov. 21-23. The freshman finished with top-four showings in all four of his individual events, opening the Invitational with a ‘B’ cut in his first swim in the 200-yard individual medley preliminaries. Osvath improved his A-final time by a second to 1:47.57 in a runner-up finish to fellow Bear Uvis Kalnins. Osvath continued his success in his next two individual events, the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke. The Budapest, Hungary, native set a lifetime-best mark with the top time among all swimmers in the 100 fly prelims (48.03), eventually placing third in the A-final. While he only had the second fastest time in the 100 breast prelims, Osvath would improve his time in the A-final for his third NCAA ‘B’ standard time of the meet, touching the wall in 54.61 for fourth place. The MSU 200 breast record was broken in Osvath’s prelims appearance as he took first among all swimmers in the morning race in a time of 1:57.91. Osvath then broke his own record in the A-final with a 1:56.39 finish, earning runner-up to Purdue’s Marat Amaltdinov, who shattered a pool record in his first-place performance. Osvath also helped three of the Bears’ relay teams set season-best times. He served as the third leg of both of MSU’s medley relays, finishing the fastest among all third-leg swimmers in the 400 medley relay. He also took part as the second leg of MSU’s 400 free relay squad which finished in third place.
Other Nominees
Cole Smith, Ball State
Senior / Columbia City, Indiana
Event & Time:
1. 50 Freestyle (21.78)
1. 100 Freestyle (47.38)
The Ball State men’s swimming and diving squad hosted Grand Valley State in the 12th annual Doug Coers co-ed Invitational Saturday afternoon. Senior Cole Smith marked the two event wins for the Cardinals, including a 21.78 time in the 50 free, followed by a 47.38 final in the 100 free. Smith narrowly clenched the first place honors in the 50 free, when he beat out Grand Valley State’s Danny Abbott by just .02 seconds.
Scott Huang, Buffalo
Junior / East Brunswick, New Jersey
Event & Time:
1. 200 IM / 1:48.63
1. 200 Breaststroke / 1:59.43
1. 400 IM / 3:54.10 (preliminaries)
2. 100 Breaststroke / 55.18
2. 400 Medley Relay / 3:20.06 /45.29 his portion
2. 200 Medley Relay / 1:30.52 / 20.05 his portion
6. 800 Free Relay / 6:52.18 / 1:41.81 his portion
11. 400 Free Relay / 3:09.68 / 47.04 his portion
Scott Huang hit NCAA “B Cuts” in four separate events, 200 yard IM (1:48.63), 400 yard IM (3:54.10), 200-yard breaststroke (1:59.43), 100-yard breaststroke (55.18). He finished first in the 200 yard IM and 200-yard breaststroke, while finishing second in the 100-yard breaststroke. In the 400 yard IM he was first after the preliminary round, but did not compete in the finals for the 400 yard IM. Huang and the rest of the 200 and 400-yard medley relay teams finished in second place in both races.
Dan O’Brien, Evansville
Sophomore / Center Grove, Indiana
Event & Time:
2. 100 fly / 49.84
4. 400 Free Relay / 3:06.61
5. 100 Back / 51.00
6. 200 Medley Relay / 1:33.78
8. 400 Medley Relay / 3:27.71
10. 800 Free Relay / 7:10.56
10. 200 Back / 1:55.85
Sophomore Dan O’Brien had a strong showing as the Purple Aces swam at the House of Champions in Indianapolis. His top finish came in the 100 fly as his time of 49.84 put him second in the race. A 3:06.61 gave him a 4th place effort in the 400 free relay and his third top five of the weekend came in the 100 backstroke as he took 5th, swimming a 51.00. In the 200 medley relay, he contributed to a 6th place with a 1:33.78. He also was part of three other top ten finishes over the weekend.
Joao Facciotti, Southern Illinois
Sophomore / Sao Paulo, Brazil
Event & Time:
t1. 100 Fly / 47.85
2. 100 Back / 48.79
4. 50 Free / 20.44
4. 200 Free Relay / 1:22.24
4. 400 Free Relay / 3:02.62
5. 200 Medley Relay / 1:31.31
6. 100 Free / 45.71
In perhaps the most challenging meet for the Salukis so far this season, sophomore Joao Facciotti qualified for seven A Finals, four of which were individual events. At the conclusion of the Purdue Invitational, Facciotti totaled six top-five finishes. Facciotti’s most impressive swim came in the 100-yard butterfly where he tied for first place with a season-best 47.85 swim. He followed that with another successful performance in the 100-yard backstroke where he finished second, coming in at 48.79, another season best for the Salukis. Facciotti came away from the weekend with a fourth place finish in the 50-yard freestyle and a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle, along with three top-five finishes as a member of SIU’s relay teams for the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays and the 200-yard medley relay.
Swimming news courtesy of MAC conference.
