RESULTS
 
COLUMBIA, Mo. – In its final dual meet of the 2016-17 season, the Missouri State swimming and diving team fell to the No. 15/13 Missouri men's and women's swimming and diving club at the Mizzou Aquatic Center, Saturday afternoon. The Missouri State men fell by a score of 177-109 while the women lost 182-97.
 
Five Bears – Antonio Thomas, Minki Kang, Artur Osvath, Loretta Stelnicki and Lauren Pavel – earned first-place victories during the matchup between the in-state rivals. The Bears controlled the 200-yard breaststroke as Pavel touched the wall first in 2:21.72 and Osvath earned a first-place finish with a time of 1:58.36.
 
"We had a tough start with the medley relays, but I think we did a good job with responding and racing tough at our second meet in three days," Osvath said. "I'm proud of this team for battling until the end and I think we are poised for a great conference meet."
 
Osvath went on to win the 200yd fly (1:47.04) as well, while Kang and Thomas earned their crowns in the distance free events. Thomas was the champion in the men's 500yd free, finishing the race in 4:31.15 and Kang reached the wall first in the 1000yd free (9:19.32).
 
"It is always a challenge swimming against the University of Missouri, but I feel like we came out and competed well with them," Kang said. "I am excited to see how we finish out the season."
 
On the women's side, Stelnicki dominated the 100yd free, finishing in 52.39 seconds. Placing fifth in the 200yd free, the sophomore shaved nearly three seconds off her season best time after finishing the race in 1:54.31.
 
"It was fun to finish out the regular dual meet season racing against a good opponent," Stelnicki said. "The racing was challenging, but it was great to see everyone get behind each other and cheer for one another. We are very excited for the conference championships in a few weeks. We have been training very hard and I'm excited to see everyone's hard work pay off soon."
 
Up next for the Bears
After completing the final dual meet of the season, the Missouri State men head east to South Bend, Ind., to compete in the Shamrock Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame on Jan. 27-28. The Missouri State women return to action at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships, held in Iowa City, Iowa, on Feb. 15-18. For more information on the Missouri State swimming and diving team, visit www.missouristatebears.com or Twitter (@MoStateSwim).