Swim Bears Split At Drury

Thursday, January 19

Springfield, MO

6:00 PM

Missouri State University

Drury University

January 19, 2017 | Swimming and Diving

RESULTS: MSU at Drury

By: MSU Athletics Communications

RESULTS

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – In a hard-fought battle between Drury and Missouri State, the Bears and Panthers split once again as the Missouri State men won by a score of 113.5-109.5 while the women fell 129-108 at Breech Pool, Thursday evening.

"I am very pleased with how both the men and the women raced tonight," head coach Dave Collins said. "The atmosphere at this meet is always a fun one and promotes great races. Drury has a great team and we really enjoy the rivalry that brings out the best in both squads."

Leading throughout the meet, the Missouri State men earned multiple top-five performances, including first-place finishes in seven events. Sophomore Artur Osvath and Freshman Antonio Thomas each recorded two victories on the evening followed by Nicholas Theunissen and Thomas Heye, who earned one victory apiece.

Thomas broke two Breech Pool records thanks to his victories in the 500-yard freestyle (4:26.53) and 1000yd free (9:16.04) while Osvath broke the Breech Pool record in the 200yd individual medley, swimming a season-best, "B" standard time of 1:48.84 in the event.

In the 100yd backstroke, Heye led the entire race in his 50.68 second, first-place finish. Theunissen followed suit, touching the wall first in 55.68 seconds during the 100yd breaststroke.

The Missouri State men shined in the 200yd medley relay, earning a first-place finish with a time of 1:30.98 in the event. The men finished the meet with a second-place finish in the 200yd free relay.

"I am very proud of this group of men," Collins said. "They have trained very well and love to race. It took the entire group to get the win tonight."

Junior Sydney Zupan and senior Alexis Skiniotes were standouts in the pool and on the diving board for the Missouri State women. Zupan recorded the only individual victory in the pool for the squad, recording a first-place time of 1:51.74 in the 200yd free.

On the board, Skiniotes made out with two victories after tallying a score of 196.5 in the 1-meter and racking up 210 points in the 3-meter. Freshman Payton Smith followed Skiniotes, placing second in both the 1-meter (190.05) and 3-meter (189.23) diving events.

Brooke Drieling and Brianna McCullough each set season-bests in the 1000yd free after Drieling placed second (10:22.19) and McCullough took third (10:27.11). Another top finisher for the Bears was senior Anna Bump, who earned a second-place finish in the 100yd free and was the top finisher for Missouri State in the event. The Bears finished 2-3-4 in the 50yd free and 100yd back, and placed 2-3-4-5 in the 200yd IM.

"This group is so motivated right now," Collins said. "The team chemistry might be the strongest I have seen. The Missouri Valley Conference championship meet can't get here soon enough."

After a second-place finish in the 200yd medley relay, the 200yd freestyle relay squad made up of Zupan, Hope Ernhart, Bump and Loretta Stelnicki capped off the race in a 1:35.01, nail-biting victory.

After facing his alma mater twice this season, Collins says he is grateful to compete against his former coach, Brian Reynolds.

"Brian Reynolds is one of my mentors and friends," Collins said. "I am a coach because of him, my time swimming for him and the experiences I had while at Drury. I have so much respect for him and his program. It's an honor to compete with him each year."

Next Up For The Bears
The Missouri State swimming and diving team travels to the University of Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 21 for its final dual of the 2016-17 season. The dual against the Tigers is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the Mizzou Aquatic Center. For more information on the Missouri State swimming and diving team, visit www.missouristatebears.com or Twitter (@MoStateSwim).

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