Oct. 22, 2014
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The Missouri State men's and women's swimming and diving teams head to Lawrence, Kan., for the Kansas Double Dual on the campus of the University of Kansas beginning on Friday, Oct. 24, at 5 p.m. Duals will take place on Friday and Saturday, with the women taking on Kansas and Denver, while the men face Denver.
Last Weekend Overview
The Bears hosted the Duel in the Pool against Drury on Thursday, Oct. 16, and held an Alumni/Intrasquad exhibition meet on Saturday.
Both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams made furious comebacks in the annual Duel in the Pool at Hammons Student Center on Thursday, Oct. 16, as Missouri State won 131-112 on the men's side and lost narrowly 121-120 on the women's side.
The Bears trailed by more than 10 points on each side heading into the second diving event of the night, but the MSU divers gave the Bears the boost they needed.
Men's divers Garrett Nevels, Elijah Swaim and Brody Arvesen went 1-2-3 in both the 1- and 3-meter diving events on the men's side, while Alexis Skiniotes, Nina Privitera and Hannah Swyers all placed in the top four for the women.
The last half of the meet had many highlights for the Bears.
For the men, MSU junior Uvis Kalnins placed first in the 100 free with a time of 45.24. Miguel Davila won both the 1000 free and the 500 free. Freshman Ethan Bresette also scored big points for the Bears, earning second and third place finishes in the 1000 free and 500 free, respectively.
Junior Dora Kiss won the 200 free (1:54.75), 200 fly (2:07.33) and the 500 free (5:04.20) to lead the MSU women. Lauren Pavel placed first in the 200 breast (2:26.22) and Alyssa Powers followed her in second with a time of 2:25.54. Anna Bump and Kate Gately went 2-3 in the 100 free, while Sydney Zupan and Briana Horozewski went 2-3 in the 200 back for key points down the stretch for the Bears. Junior Ibby Simcox also contributed by gaining points with a second place finish in the 200 fly (2:08.33) and fourth in the 200 IM (2:12.46).
About the University of Kansas
The Jayhawks host their first duals of the season at Robinson Natatorium when they take on the Bears and Denver Pioneers this weekend. Fielding only a women's side, the JayHawks competed in their first dual on Oct. 13 and defeated Nebraska-Omaha on the road, 99-41.
Kansas went 7-5 in duals last season and come off a historic season. The Jayhawks finished second in the 2014 Big 12 Championships for their highest finish in school history. Head coach Clark Campbell - father of Missouri State men's swimmer Canaan Campbell - won the Big 12 Coach of Meet award and now-junior Chelsie Miller was named Swimmer of the Meet About the University of Denver
The Denver Pioneers head to Lawrence following a successful set of duals on Saturday, Oct. 18. The Denver men broke 10 pool records on the road at the Colorado School of Mines, while the women swept Colorado State and Nebraska-Omaha at the El Pomar Natatorium in Denver.
A second-year member of The Summit League, the Pioneers are led by last season's conference coach of the year Brian Schrader. Both the men and women captured conference championships in 2013-14, with both totaling over 1,000 points in title-winning performances.
MSU's Nevels Named MAC Men's Swimmer of the Week
Missouri State senior diver Garrett Nevels was named the Mid-American Conference Men's Swimmer of the Week for his performance at the Duel in the Pool, the league office announced Monday, Oct. 20.
Nevels dominated in the 1-meter event by finishing with a 411.87 in six dives and beat his own school record by more than 54 points. He also set the pool record by nine points, which was previously done last season by Missouri's David Bonuchi.
He also broke his own school record in the 3-meter dive by a little over 10 points, while also setting the new pool record with 388.58 points. The previous pool record was held by Evan Watters of Missouri with 378.38 in 2004. Pavel Named MVC Swimmer of the Week
Missouri State women's swimmer Lauren Pavel earned one of the Missouri Valley Conference's Swimmer of the Week awards on Oct. 14 following her performances over the weekend at Evansville and Southern Illinois.
Pavel won four individual events to lead the Bears in duals against Evansville and Southern Illinois. In the dual against Evansville on Friday, Oct. 11, Pavel won the 200 IM (2:12.16), the 100 breaststroke (1:06.54) and also was the second leg of the 400 medley relay team that finished first, giving her top honors in all three races she competed in.
On Saturday at Southern Illinois, Pavel again won two individual events by taking first in the 100 breast (1:07.08) and in the 200 breast (2:26.22), while also placing fourth in the 200 IM in a time of 2:12.61. Her current 100 breast and 200 IM times rank her first in the MVC at this point in the 2014-15 season.
Le Awarded Swimmer of the Week
MSU men's swimming and diving senior Paul Le was recognized as the Men's Swimmer of the Week by the Mid-American Conference for his performance at the Missouri Show-Me Showdown, announced by the conference on Monday, Oct. 6. 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. Le has now been awarded conference swimmer of the week six times in his career.
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.
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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.
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