Results
 
SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State men's and women's swimming and diving teams opened conference action with a combined 13 first-place titles, as the Bears outpaced Southern Illinois on senior day at Hammons Student Center Pool Saturday afternoon.
 
MSU swept the Salukis in the conference opener, with the men cruising to a 159-82 win while the women edged past Southern Illinois by a slimmer 132-111 margin.
 
"I was pleased with how well we competed," said head coach Dave Collins. "We knew it was going to be a tough dual and I felt our depth was evident, with several individuals securing key finishes."
 
Libby Howell and Antonio Thomas set the Bears on a winning course in the opening individual event, each handily securing the top spot in the 1000 freestyle by a solid 10-plus second differential. Both swimmers would also run away with the 500 freestyle later in the conference dual.
 
"It's surreal to be in this position," said Thomas. "It means so much that I've been blessed to be a part of such a fantastic team during my time here at MSU."
 
A 200 freestyle win from newcomer Arthur Cury ignited a four-event win streak for the Bears as Anna Miller and Samuel Senn conquered the 50 freestyle and Howell followed suit with her second individual dual title in the 200 IM.
 
Haley Allen sparked another Bears' run, collecting her first career win in the 200 butterfly (2:07.85) on senior day. Pawel Krawczyk continued the home club's momentum, swimming a 1:51.00 mark to earn a win in the 200 butterfly and complete MSU's event sweep.
 
"Senior day was a lot of fun," said Allen. "The energy and enthusiasm is unmatched at HSC Pool, and the team was happy to secure the winning result in front of a home crowd."
 
Miller and Cury found themselves leading the pack yet again in the 100 freestyle, each turning in a first-place effort before Sarah Allegri capped off the winning stretch the top spot in the 200 backstroke (2:04.75).
 
Conner Funke and Michael Hampel produced the final 1-2 punch for MSU in the 200 breaststroke, pulling in insurance points with times of 2:04.97 and 2:05.63, respectively.
 
SIU broke up the freestyle sweep in the women's 200 event with a notch on the leaderboard, but Alex Thorson and Grace Beahan provided the 2-3 punch to gain crucial points for the Bears.
 
MSU finished strong in the 400 freestyle relay category, seeing team victories on both the men's and women's sides.
 
Diving's Dayana Popa and Michael Claunch rounded out the Bears' efforts, each placing amongst the top-three finishers in the 1-meter and 3-meter events.
 
The meet served as MSU's senior day, recognizing the achievements of Haley Allen, Sarah Allegri, Payton Smith, Samuel Senn, Antonio Thomas, Conner Ripp, Thomas Heye, and Jacob Schultz.
 
Up next, MSU heads to Texas for the Southern Methodist University Invitational, taking place Nov. 21-23.
 
For all the latest information on the Missouri State swimming and diving team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MoStateSwim on Twitter.