YPSILANTI, Mich. - The final day of the MAC swimming and diving championships began with the grueling 1650-yard, or mile, freestyle. This event was one of the stronger events for Missouri State. Freshman Daan Jansen led the Bears with his time of 15:40.99, earning second-place. Sophomore Tom Bullock placed fourth with a time of 15:51.33 and freshman Niklas Gustafsson placed seventh with his time of 15:54.68.

The next event was the 200-yard backstroke. Senior Pat Bergin touched the wall at 1:48.28, earning fourth in the event, a full second faster than his preliminary time of 1:49.30 and three seconds faster than his previous best this season.

In the 100-yard freestyle, junior Dillon Burns turned in a time of 45.00, earning fourth in the event. MSU also went first and third in the consolation round with junior Roko Simunic (45.52) and sophomore Jeff Bentz (45.82).

In the 200-yard breaststroke, Eastern Michigan's top event, the Bears earned points from sophomore Chris Novak, who placed eighth with a time of 2:04.05. Junior Cajun Skinner (2:05.39) and sophomore Waldo Broodryk (2:08.94) also earned points in the consolation final.

The next event was the 200-yard butterfly where freshman Nick Carter was the only Bear in the championship final. He made the best of the situation and won the event with a time of 1:48.63. Carter became the second Bear to win an individual event in the meet. Sophomores Tom Bullock (1:53.29) and Tyler Saltzberry (1:54.35) went first and fourth respectively in the consolation final.

Junior Eric Ducourneau was the fourth seeded diver on the three-meter board. The seeding stayed true as Ducourneau's 346.15, a mere 1.15 out of second-place, notched him fourth place.

The final event of the 2010 MAC Championship was the 400-yard freestyle relay. To wrap up the night, MSU finished fourth with a time of 3:01.07. The Bears finish the meet with 587 points, sealing third place in their first season in the MAC. The last time the Bears finished third in a conference meet was 2007, the Bears first year in the Sun Belt.

Day two of the Mid-American Conference men's swimming and diving championships began with the 200-yard medley relay. The Bears not only won the 400-yard medley relay on day one, but also set the Mid-American Conference record and the Jones Natatorium record at Eastern Michigan. Day two was more of the same, as the relay team touched the wall at 1:29.96 breaking an 11-year pool record at Jones Natatorium.

The second event of the day was the 400-yard individual medley. In this event, the freshman duo of Niklas Gustafsson and Daan Jansen finished third and fourth respectively. In the consolation heat, sophomore Chris Novak shaved ten seconds off of his preliminary time to finish twelfth. Freshman Cameron Case won the consolation heat with a time of 4:01.81.

In the third event, the 100-yard butterfly, senior Nicolas Villarroel was the lone Bear to swim in the scoring round. Villarroel was the eighth finisher in the preliminary round, but in the scoring round, he finished third with his time of 49.58.

In the 200-yard freestyle, sophomore Nick Carter led the way for the Bears. He finished fifth in the event with his time of 1:40.39.

Junior Cajun Skinner was the only Missouri State swimmer in the 100-yard breaststroke and earned a sixth-place finish.

The final individual swimming event of the evening was the 100-yard backstroke, a staple of Missouri State swimming. The Bears had three swimmers in the championship heat, and the trio of junior Roko Simunic (47.67), senior Nicolas Villarroel (48.95) and senior Pat Bergin (50.09) finished first, third and fourth, respectively.

The day ended in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The Bears were seeded fourth in the event and maintained their position with a time of 6:43.63. This time was a full 15 seconds faster than the previous season best.

The Bears opened the first day on a very strong note, winning the first event of the day, the 200 yard freestyle relay. Missouri State turned in a time of 1:21.37, which qualifies for the NCAA "B" cut line.

Missouri State then had some strong individual performances to add to their point tally. Sophomore Nick Carter turned in 4:28.75 in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing in second. After that, junior Dillon Burns placed second with his time of 20.41 in the 50-yard freestyle.

To end the night on a high note, the Bears turned in a 3:17.02 in the 400-yard medley relay, their second relay team to finish first in the meet. In addition to earning a first place finish, Missouri State also hit the NCAA "B" cut line for this event as well.

Team Scores:
Eastern Michigan    773
Buffalo                   613.5
MISSOURI STATE  587
Miami (Ohio)           574.5
SIU                        478
Ball State               231.5
Evansville               136.50