IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Missouri State men's and women's swimming and diving team suffered losses to both the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Purdue Boilermakers on the campus of the University of Iowa, Friday afternoon.

The Missouri State women fell 237-62 to host Iowa and 252-48 to Purdue. The women's side was highlighted by Sydney Zupan, Sarah Allegri and Lauren Pavel, who all earned top-finishes for the Bears. The men found a similar fate, falling to the Hawkeyes by a score of 176-118 and 194-100 to the Boilermakers of Purdue. Artur Osvath and Minki Kang were top performers for the men, bringing in first and second-place finishes.

"We saw some nice improvement in a lot of areas today," head coach Dave Collins said. "I'm excited about the results of the first cycle of training as we prepare to give the athletes some rest for the IUPUI invite. I was encouraged by some new faces being impactful to the team's points today. We will need to continue to grow as a group and see steady improvement if we want to achieve the goals we have set."

The women earned three top-five finishes coming from Zupan, Pavel and Allegri. Zupan placed fourth in the women's 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:02.20 while Pavel finished fifth in the women's 200yd breaststroke in 2:22.40. Allegri, a freshman, swam a 56.72 second 100yd back to earn fifth-place in her event as well.

"I'm really proud of the way the Bears raced today and got behind one another," Zupan said. "It was a great opportunity for the women's team to be able to practice racing in the pool that we'll be competing in for the Conference Championships meet in February."

The ladies tallied six, sixth-place finishes, beginning with the women's 200yd medley relay in which the Bears recorded a time of 1:45.68. Other Bears to finish in the number six spot were Zupan (100yd back, 56.87), Pavel (100yd breast, 1:05.48), Haley Allen (200yd butterfly, 2:07.18) and Loretta Stelnicki (50yd free, 24.20).

Brooke Dreiling, a freshman from Andover, Kan., also finished sixth in the 1000yd free, setting a new personal record with a time of 10:41.96 in the event. Her time was nearly ten seconds faster than her previous record set last weekend at MSU's dual meet against Drury.

The MSU men saw strong performances throughout the night, earning 19 top-five and 10 top-three finishes. The men started off the afternoon placing fourth in the men's 200yd medley relay, where the men's A relay combined for a time of 1:31.37.

Following the event Kang and freshman Antonio Thomas kicked things off for the Bears, finishing second and third in the men's 1000yd freestyle. In the event, Kang recorded a new career high after finishing the race in 9:14.52, besting his previous time by almost two seconds. Kang went on to take third in the 500yd free with a season-best time of 4:31.88, recording big points for the Bears.

"It was nice to swim fast today," Kang said. "It was exciting to watch the rest of the team swim very well against two tough, Big 10 teams."

Osvath finished with an impressive night, achieving two B-standards in the 200yd breast (2^nd, 1:58.82) and the 200yd fly (1^st, 1:47.42). Both were season bests for the sophomore and his 1:47.42 run in the 200yd fly set a new career high, breaking his previous record set last weekend on Oct. 29.

Freshman Samuel Senn also set a new personal record, swimming the 50yd free in 20.76 seconds. Senn place third in the event and went on to place sixth in the 100yd free where, thanks to his 46.37 second performance, he set a new personal record in that event as well.

Sophomore Michael Mollak also had a big night, placing second and setting a personal season-record in the 200yd free with a time of 1:40.26. In the men's 100yd breast, Phillip Willett was the top performer for the Bears with a second-place time of 55.53 seconds, followed by Nicholas Theunissen who placed fourth and swam a time of 56.79 in the event.

"I think this meet was a good chance for us to come together as a team and rally against these Big 10 teams," Willett said. "We did well and a lot of us swam to our full potential, making a big statement. We pushed through every event and never gave up. Hopefully we can carry this team atmosphere throughout the rest of the training season and onward into conference."

The Bears asserted dominance in the 200yd breast where Osvath, Willett and Christopher Heye went 2-3-4 in the event. The men's team capped off the night finishing fifth in the 400yd free relay where the Bears A relay, made up of Senn, Brenden Bolman, Mollak and Will Brand recorded a time of 3:05.56.

The Bears will have a restful week, returning to the pool at the House of Champions Invitational in Indianapolis, Ind., on Friday, Nov. 18. The invitational is schedule to last three days, ending on Sunday, Nov. 20. For more information on the Missouri State men's and women's swimming and diving team visit www.missouristatebears.com or Twitter (MoStateSwim).