The following is a press release courtesy of Missouri State Swimming & Diving:
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri State Bears’ swimming and diving teams head to Drury University for a rematch of the “Duel in the Pool” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, at Breech Pool.
The Thursday matchup will be the second meeting between the Bears and Panthers this season, following a split on Oct. 16, 2014, at Hammons Student Center. In the first meeting, the MSU men’s team won 131-112, while the women were narrowly defeated – 121-120 – after leading heading into the final relay race of the evening.
The Bears’ men’s team looks to even the all-time series as Drury holds a 15-14 dual-meet record over MSU, while the Panthers women have a 13-4 record over the Bears. Both Drury squads are ranked No. 1 nationally this season in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) polls. Thursday’s dual will be shown on a tape-delay broadcast on the Mediacom channel, MC 22.
Following the Duel in the Pool, both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams go on the road to compete on back-to-back days. The Bears’ women’s squad heads to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in a 4 p.m. dual on Friday, Jan. 23, at the Arkansas Natatorium. Meanwhile, the men’s team heads to Rolla, Mo., for a dual with Missouri S&T at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, at the Missouri S&T Pool in Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.
Last Meet Overview
Missouri State tied a pool record and won all but three events in a collegiate men’s and women’s swimming and diving dual against Truman State on Saturday, Jan. 17, at Hammons Student Center.
The Bears held their final home meet for their senior class of 2014-15 and gave them a solid final memory of HSC competitive action, sweeping the Bulldogs by a 108-91 tally for the women, and a 134-65 victory for the men.
Both the men’s and women’s squads jumped off the starting blocks quick. The Bears’ women’s 200 medley relay squads went first and third, with Megan Holthoff, Lauren Pavel, Ibby Simcox and Kate Gately leading the charge. The men followed by going 1-2-3 in the event, with the relay squad of Paul Le, Isaac Springer, Vitalii Baryshok and Uvis Kalnins tying a pool record and setting a season-best time by finishing in 1:30.30.
Freshmen Emma Metz and Kacper Cwiek earned their first collegiate victories, with Metz winning the 1000 free in a season-best time of 10:31.50, while Cwiek took the 200 IM in a time of 1:54.09.
Both Canaan Campbell and Caleb Schuermann swam season-best times, with Campbell finishing first in the 1000 free (9:54.18) and Schuermann taking top honors in the 100 free (46.94). Kalnins and Baryshok also put up season-best races in the 500 free, finishing in 21.02 and 21.55, respectively.
The Bears owned several events on Senior Day, none better than the 100 fly. On the women’s side, Rebecca Amparano led an MSU string of top-five finishers which included Dora Kiss, Briana Horozewski, Emma Wall and Pavel. A similar result occurred for the men, with Le winning the event in 49.60, followed by Baryshok, Isaac McKnight and Miguel Davila.
In the Rankings
The Missouri State men’s swimming and diving team has been a mainstay in the Division I CollegeSwimming.com team rankings throughout the 2014-15 season.
The CollegeSwimming.com Rankings are produced weekly throughout the season. These rankings are calculated from each team’s most recent meet result.
The Missouri State Bears reached as high as 26th in the rankings during the second time period following their performance at the Louisville Invitational from Nov. 21-23. In the first time period between Sept. 15-Oct. 26 and the second from Oct. 27-Dec. 7, the men’s squad ranked 42nd for its performances in the Denver dual and Louisville Invitational. In the third time period, the Bears are currently ranked 40th among all Division I schools in result of the Texas A&M double dual.
In the Division I mid-major poll, both the men’s and women’s teams have made appearances in the rankings.
On the men’s side, the Bears were ranked eighth during the first time period from Sept. 15-Oct. 26 and reached as high as fourth in the second time period in result of the Louisville Invitational. They are currently 10th after the Texas A&M double dual.
On the women’s side, the Bears were 37th in the mid-major poll during the first time period for their performance in the Duel in the Pool against Drury, but reached 31st during the second time period from Oct. 27-Dec. 7 after the Louisville Invitational.
Weekly Honors Update
The Missouri State swimming and diving team has had six individuals during the 2014-15 season earn conference swimmer of the week honors.
MSU’s Dora Kiss, Miguel Davila, Uvis Kalnins, Garrett Nevels, Lauren Pavel and Paul Le make up the contingent of MSU student-athletes to be recognized this season.
Dora Kiss and Miguel Davila are the most recent additions to the conference honoree list after the Louisville Invitational.
Missouri State men’s swimmer Miguel Davila was honored as the Mid-American Conference Men’s Swimmer of the week on Nov. 24, while Junior Dora Kiss was named the Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer of the Week the following day on Nov. 25.
On the first day of action on Nov. 21, Davila topped his original best time of the year by more than 10 seconds in the 500 free, winning the event in a time of 4:24.25 and earning his first B-cut mark of the season. A third-place finish in the 400 IM finals on Nov. 22 was highlighted by another season-best mark, as he completed the race in a time of 3:56.43. In the Invite finale, Davila earned top honors and met the NCAA B standard by more than 10 seconds in the 1650 free (15:18.66). His finish in the 1650 free at the Invite was almost 20 seconds faster than the runner-up in the event.
On the first day of the Invite, Kiss broke the previous-school record she held in the 500 free in the prelims by two seconds, then placed third and finished faster by one-tenth of a second in the finals with a time of 4:49.13. On the second day of action, the Hungary native finished with a personal-best time in the 200 free prelims, then topped it by finishing the finals in 1:50.52 to place a team-high fifth among individuals on the day. She also was part of an 800 free relay team that finished in an MSU season-best 7:36.73. In her final event, Kiss swam the fastest time in The Valley this season in the 200 fly (2:00.20) and placed fourth in the finals.
Junior Missouri State swimmer Uvis Kalnins was named the Mid-American Conference Men’s Swimmer of the Week in consecutive weeks – with the latest on Nov. 3 – for performances against Missouri and Denver. In an Oct. 31 dual against Missouri, Kalnins swam the anchor leg on a second-place 400 medley relay squad that posted a season-best time, while also posting top individual top times this season in the 400 IM and 100 free. In a meet with Denver on Oct. 24-25, Kalnins helped the Bears’ squad break four pool records at the Robinson Natatorium in Lawrence, Kan.
Missouri State senior diver Garrett Nevels was named the Mid-American Conference Men’s Swimmer of the Week on Oct. 20 for his performance at the Duel in the Pool. The three-time conference diver of the year and now three-time MAC Men’s Swimmer of the week broke Hammons Student Center and Missouri State school records in the 1- and 3-meter diving events to earn the award.
Sophomore Lauren Pavel earned one of the Missouri Valley Conference’s Swimmer of the Week awards on Oct. 14 following her effort in duals at Evansville and Southern Illinois. The 2013-14 all-MVC swimmer won four individual events over a weekend versus the Purple Aces and the Salukis, including sweeping all three events she competed in for the Bears at Evansville.
Senior Paul Le was recognized on Oct. 6 as the Men’s Swimmer of the Week by the Mid-American Conference for his performance at the Missouri Show-Me Showdown. 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. He has now been awarded conference swimmer of the week six times in his career.
Records Have Fallen
Senior men’s diver Garrett Nevels and junior women’s swimmer Dora Kiss have both broken Missouri State swimming and diving school records this season.
Nevels took over the men’s 1-meter and 3-meter school and pool records during the Duel in the Pool against Drury at Hammons Student Center on Oct. 16. He won the MAC Men’s Swimmer of the Week award following his record-setting marks of 411.87 points in the 1-meter dive and 388.58 points in the 3-meter dive.
Kiss broke her own 500 free school record in the prelims of the Louisville Invitational, then followed that by cutting her time by a tenth of a second to 4:49.13 for a third-place finish in the finals. Her MVC Swimmer of the Week effort was two seconds faster than the previous best time she set during her sophomore season.
Bears Highlighting NCAA Top 100 Times
The Missouri State swimming and diving teams have multiple performers that currently hold top 100 times among swimmers in Division I. Three men for the Bears make the list – which includes Miguel Davila, Uvis Kalnins and Paul Le – while Dora Kiss is in the rankings on the women’s side.
Men
Miguel Davila (500 free/54th, 1000 free/73rd, 1650 free/43rd)
Uvis Kalnins (100 free/57th, 200 free/71st, 200 IM/31st, 400 IM/25th)
Paul Le (100 free/85th, 100 back/48th, 200 back/25th, 200 IM/33rd)
Women
Dora Kiss (500 free/98th)
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.
