Swim Bears Travel to Miami for TYR Invitational

Friday, October 8

Miami, Fla.

4:00 p.m. (10/8), 10 a.m. (10/9)

Missouri State University

TYR Fall Classic

Swim Bears Travel to Miami for TYR Invitational

October 07, 2021 | Swimming and Diving

By: Athletics Communications

SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State swimming and diving teams travel to Miami, Fla., to compete in the TYR Invitational hosted by Florida International on Friday (4 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m.).

TYR Invitational
Dates	Friday, Oct. 8 4 p.m. \| Saturday, Oct. 9 10 a.m.
Location	Miami, Fla.
Site	Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center
Follow Along	Meet Mobile \| Twitter
Missouri State	Swimming & Diving Home Page \| Twitter \| Instagram

Meet Details

The two-day meet will be held at the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center in Miami, Fla.
The meet will consist of session one starting on Friday at 4 p.m., while session two will start on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Live results can be found on the Meet Mobile app which is downloadable through the app store.
Diving events will be at the conclusion of both days.
The A heats and B heats will be scored separately.
Admission is free to all spectators.

Scoring

A Relays/A Heat: 22-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12
B Heat: 10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Order of Events

Friday

400 Medley Relay
- 5 Minute Break -
200 Free
400 IM
100 Fly
50 Free
100 Breatstroke
100 Backstroke
- 5 Min Break -
200 Free Relay
Women's 1-Meter Diving
Men's 3-Meter Diving

Saturday

200 Medley Relay
- 5 Minute Break -
500 Free
200 Breast
200 Back
100 Free
200 Fly
200 IM
- 5 Min Break -
400 Free Relay
Women's 3-Meter Diving
Men's 1-Meter Diving

Bear Across the Water

Invitational host Florida International is led by Missouri State alum and former assistant coach, Randy Horner. As an assistant swimming coach at Missouri State (1998-2005), Horner coached 2004 Olympians Raichin Anotonov and Jackie Wellman, while also leading the Bears to four consecutive conference championships. A native of Canton, Mo., Horner earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Missouri State University in 1994. Horner swam for the Bears and served as a student assistant coach in 1994.

Bears from Abroad

Eight Swim Bears hail from outside the United States: The women's side features Vera Margula (Szczecin, Poland), Alessia Puleo (Cambiago, Italy) and Ulyana and Yuliya Zubina (Gomel, Belarus). Representing the men are Arthur Cury (Curitiba, Parana, Brazil), Pawel Krawczyk (Warsaw, Poland), Bruno Miranda Guerra (Campinas, Brazil) and Bruno Suzuki-Tomiyama (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

Family Ties

The Missouri State swimming and diving rosters feature three sets of siblings. Sisters Jordan and Kelsey Boyce and Ulyana and Yuliya Zubina represent the women's squad while the men's roster features brothers Jonathan and Robbie Hill. Libby Howell's older sister, Quincy, also swam at Missouri State from 2013-2017.

Women's Bear Bites

Missouri State closed out the 2020-21 season in style by winning its fifth-straight MVC Championship with an impressive 929.5-point performance. The Bears' 381-point margin of victory was a program best.
Missouri State has been in a league of its own when it comes to conference championships, as the Bears have won 17 of the last 19 MVC titles.
The Bears were defeated by Southern Illinois in the season opener, 187-166.
In relay action, MSU was victorious in the 200 medley relay when Kelly Sego, Yuliya Zubina, Sami Roemer and Anna Miller combined to swim a 1:44.03. The 200 freestyle relay of Hannah Amelung, Anna Lucas, Sami Roemer and Miller also won with a time of 1:35.03.
Four-time all-MVC honoree Libby Howell collected wins in the 500 freestyle (5:05.38) and the 200 freestyle (1:53.48). The Bixby, Okla., native also posted a third-place finish in the 1,000 freestyle by clocking a 10:39.99
Miller garnered wins in the 100 freestyle (51.29) and 50 freestyle (23.54).
Vera Margula was impressive with a win in the 1,000 freestyle (10:31.61) and a runner-up finish in the 500 freestyle (5:05.54).
Freshman Payton Smith made an immediate impact in her debut, winning the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:05.09. She also clocked a 4:37.23 to take second in the 400 IM.
First-team all-MVC returnees include Miller, Howell, Alessia Puleo, Anna Lucas, Sami Roemer, Grace Beahan, Margula, Yuyila Zubina, Kellie Fischer, Cabrini Johnson and Kelly Sego.
Second-team returnees feature Ulyana Zubina, Yuliya Zubina, Adriana Avila, Jordan Wenner and Sam Hietpas.
Overall, the MSU roster features 22 returning letterwinners and eight newcomers this season.

Dynamic Duo

The senior duo of Howell and Miller highlight the returnees, as the pair has combined for 43 gold medals at the MVC Championships.
Howell is a perfect 12-for-12 in her career in individual events while collecting 23 golds at the MVC championships. She currently holds school records in the 200-yard, 1000-yard and 1650-yard freestyles.
Miller is the reigning MVC swimmer of the year after winning all three of her events in record breaking fashion at last season's championships. The St. Louis, Mo., native has 20 career golds and holds school records in the 50 and 100-meter freestyles, in addition to the 100-yard butterfly.

Men's Bear Bites

The men's squad is coming off a runner-up performance at the 2021 MAC Championships.
The Bears defeated Southern Illinois in the season opener last Friday and Saturday, 205.5-145.5.
In relay action Robbie Hill, Michael Hampel, Arthur Cury and Bruno Guerra won the 200 medley relay by clocking a 1:31.53 and the 400 medley relay with a time of 3.21.93
Three-time all-MAC honoree Pawel Krawczyk was dominant in the opener, winning the 500 freestyle (4:37.45), the 200 butterfly (1:52.16) and the 100 butterfly (51.21).
Michael Hampel was victorious in the 100 (56.77) and 200 (2:07.98) breaststrokes.
Dylan Moffatt won the 500 (4:38.83) and 1000 (9:41.16) freestyles in addition to taking home the 400 IM (4:09.96). Moffatt posted 18 top-three finishes last season.
Robbie Hill won the 100 backstroke (50.27), while placing second in the 200 backstroke (1:50.03) and 100 butterfly (52.13).
Arthur Cury recorded a pair of wins in the 200 freestyle (1:41.31) and 200 IM (1:52.47).
John David Spence won the 3-meter diving event by posting a 300.82 mark while tsking third on the 1-meter boards with a 258.90 mark.
All-MAC returnees include Cury, Spence, Hampel, Jonathan Hill, Krawczyk, Jimmy Doromal and A.J. Huskey.
The MSU roster features 12 returning letterwinners and five newcomers.

Captain America

Team captain Michael Hampel represented Missouri State on the national stage this past summer when he competed in the 100-meter breaststroke at the United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. on June 5. Hampel finished the event with a time of 1:04.27, which placed him 62^nd among all competitors. Hampel is a three-time gold medalist (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 400 medley relay) and three-time silver medalist (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 medley relay) at the MAC Championships. The Owensboro, Ky., native posted 15 top-three finished last season.

Powerful Pawel

Pawel Krawczyk has been a dominant force since breaking onto the scene in 2019. The Warsaw, Poland product has collected eight gold medals and four silver medals at the MAC Championships. He is a three-time MAC first-team selection and was the 2019 MAC Freshman Swimmer of the Year.

Coach Dave Collins

Dave Collins (Drury, 2005) is in his 11th season as Missouri State head coach.
Collins garnered Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2021.
Under Collins' watch, the Bears have won nine MVC conference titles and three MAC championships.
In 2020-21, Collins guided the women to their fifth-straight Valley title and 17th overall. The MSU women ran away with the crown after winning seven individual and three relay events to finish with 929.50 points. The Bears' 381-point margin of victory was a program best. The MSU men finished second at the MAC Championships, claiming ten conference champion citations throughout the meet. Michael Claunch qualified for the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships for the third time on both the 1-and-3 meter boards.
As head coach, Collins and the Bears' staff have produced 45 all-MVC first team selections and 22 all-MAC first teamers. Collins has also coached six conference swimmers of the year, a list that includes Anna Miller (2021), Dora Kiss (2016, 12), Lauren Pavel (2015, 17), Renata Sander (2011-14) and Uvis Kalnins (2014). Academically, with team GPAs of 3.0 or higher, both Bear squads have annually earned CSCAA Scholar All-America team honors.
Since his arrival at Missouri State, the Bears have broken all men's and women's school records in the non-freestyle events.
Collins has taken the Bears' recruiting efforts to new heights. He and his coaching staff are responsible for signing Missouri State's first top-100 recruit: 2012 Olympian Uvis Kalnins of Latvia. CollegeSwimming.com listed Kalnins as the No. 68 overall swimmer in the 2012 recruiting class.
Before becoming head coach, Collins served as an assistant for four seasons at Missouri State under MSU Hall of Famer Jack Steck.

Take a Look Ahead

After the meet in Miami, both teams will be back in action Oct. 22-23 in Lawrence, Kan. The men will face South Dakota while the women will square off against Kansas. Start times for the event will be at 5 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.

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