ST. LOUIS - Missouri State men's swimming & diving had two swimmers win Missouri Valley Conference weekly awards in the team's first week of competition. Senior Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama was named MVC Swimmer of the Week and newcomer Gonzalo Ruiz was named MVC Freshman of the Week following the team's winning performance against Southern Illinois in Carbondale.

Suzuki-Tomiyama (São Paulo, Brazil) won three events to start his season. He opened the two-day meet over the weekend by defending his Mid-American Conference title in the 500-yard freestyle (4:36.75) on Friday. He continued his dominance in the freestyle events with a win in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:45.34). Suzuki-Tomiyama earned his third win in the final individual event of the meet with a resounding victory in the 400-yard individual medley (4:02.42) by over four seconds. His times in all three events sit atop the MVC leaderboards.

Ruiz (Madrid, Spain) won MVC Freshman of the Week after his collegiate debut with two individual wins in backstroke events. Ruiz won the 200-yard backstroke (1:47.61) on the first day of the meet and followed up that performance the next day by winning the 100-yard backstroke (50.33). Ruiz was also the lead swimmer in Missouri State's win in the 400-yard medley relay (3:18.47). His relay leadoff time of 50.12 paces the conference in the 100 back, while his winning time in the 200 back is also an MVC-best. 

Missouri State men's swimming & diving will return to action for the team's home opener against Drury on Friday, Oct. 25 at 5:00 p.m. CT at Hammons Student Center Pool. The women's team will compete before that against Arkansas in Fayetteville on Thursday, Oct. 17 starting at 3:00 p.m. CT.