Meet Results
 
SPRINGFIELD – Making a statement early in the season, the Missouri State swimming and diving team came away with a pair of conference victories over conference foe Southern Illinois, Saturday at Hammons Student Center.
 
Tripling their opponent's score, the Missouri State men posted a 187-50 win over the Salukis. Combining for 33 top-three finishes, the group was highlighted by 10 victories on the day. On the women's side, the Bears handed the second-ranked Salukis a 138-105 loss, reining in six first-place finishes and 21 top-three times.
 
"I thought we had a really good meet today," head coach Dave Collins said. "One of our goals early in the season is to try to generate momentum for what is a really long season. Every opportunity we get to race, we want to bring a lot of energy and that was our goal coming into this meet against a really good Southern Illinois team. I was very pleased with how we came out and raced."
 
Three women garnered first-place performances as Anna Miller, Josie Pearson and Sydney Zupan all came away with two wins. Miller shined in the speed events, touching the wall first in the 50 free (24.06) and 100 free (52.99). Pearson clinched the 200 fly (2:04.82) and dominated the 200 IM with a time of 2:03.89 – nearly seven seconds before the second-place finisher. Zupan saw her share of success as well, winning the 200 free in 1:52.38 and the 200 back with a time of 2:01.26.
 
Newcomer Libby Howell and junior Loretta Stelnicki were among the women's top performers as the pair brought in two second-place finishes apiece. Howell's silver efforts in the 500 and 1000 free fell just short as she finished behind last season's Missouri Valley Conference 500 free champion and Elite 18 swimmer, Bryn Handley. Stelnicki brought in her top-two finishes in the 50 and 100 free behind Miller.
 
Boasting nine first-place finishers, the men found success from their veteran swimmers as well as a handful of newcomers. Junior Artur Osvath led the men with two victories in the 200 IM and 200 fly while fellow juniors Minki Kang (500 free), Michael Mollak (200 free) and Phillip Willett (200 breast) collected wins as well. Sophomore Conner Ripp earned his first victory of the season, posting a time of 1:52.32 in the 200 back.
 
Freestylers Samuel Senn and Lucas Paloschi were also winners for the Bears, claiming the 50 and 100 free respectively. Distance swimmers Minki Kang and Antonio Thomas traded off victories as Kang took first in the 500 free (4:35.95) and second in the 1000 free (9:33.96) while Thomas won the 1000 free (9:28.10) and touched the wall second in the 500 free (4:35.95).  
 
In diving, freshman Michael Claunch collected his first collegiate victory, posting a top score of 271.87 points on the 3-meter board. Claunch would go on to finish second on the 1-meter board while fellow-newcomer Connor Cox took third in both events. Ashley Yarbrough led the MSU women's divers and brought in third-place finishes on both the 1- and 3-meter boards.
 
Sweeping the meet's relays, the men's and women's team gathered victories in the 400 medley and free relays. The Missouri State women took the top two spots in the 400 medley relay and finished first and third in the 400 free relay. The men took first and third in the 400 medley relay and claimed the first three finishes in the final relay of the day.  
 
"We made plenty of mistakes and were rusty in some spots, but we had some really nice things take place that we are really excited about," Collins added. "If we can continue and develop, I think we're going to be really happy with our results moving towards the remaining meets and championship season."
 
Coming Up Next
The Bears head to Lawrence, Kan., Oct. 20-21 for a double dual featuring the Kansas Jayhawks and South Dakota. For all the latest information on the Missouri State swimming and diving team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MoStateSwim on Twitter.