INDIANAPOLIS - The Missouri State men's swimming & diving team took the lead on the second day of the 20th House of Champions Invitational Friday, overtaking host IU Indianapolis going into the final day of the meet with 890.5 points. The MoState women's team maintained its positioning in second place behind Marshall, sitting at 807 points.

Samantha Roemer continued her streak of gold medals following her 200 IM victory yesterday. The fifth-year swimmer set a new personal best by .01 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly (53.30) to take her second event win of the invitational. Her new personal best breaks a tie she had with Anna Miller's second-best time in Bears history. Miller's time of 52.96 remains at the top. 

The tenured Bears highlighted the scoring sheet with a pair of silver medals from Cabrini Johnson, who finished second in the 50-yard breaststroke (28.68) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:01.87). Her 50 breast time marks the fastest by a Missouri Valley Conference swimmer this season entering the meet. 

Missouri State also saw its younger swimmers make waves at IU Natatorium. Sophomore Olivia Sala earned her first career collegiate medal in the 400-yard individual medley by tying her personal best time of 4:22.63 she earned at last season's MVC Championships where she finished fifth in the event. 

Sophomore Caitlyn Friebe also continued her consistent showing from Thursday after earning bronze in the 50-yard backstroke (25.24). On Friday, she also took bronze in the 100-yard backstroke (54.93) by reaching the wall just .02 seconds before Marshall's Mia McBride (54.95).

The Bears came just .1 seconds off of Marshall's pace in battling for the win in the 200-yard medley relay. Friebe, Johnson, Roemer and Lana Janson combined for a time of 1:40.47 for second place.

In diving, Courtney Stanbury improved on her 3-meter dive prelim score (251.00) to take fourth place in the event final with a score of 254.60 to lead the Bears. 

On the men's side, junior Luigi Maciel da Silva feasted off both breaststroke events on the middle day of the House of Champions Invitational. The two-time Mid-American Conference breaststroke silver medalist started Friday by besting his prelim leading time of 24.33 in the 50-yard breaststroke with a 24.16 gold-medal swim in the finals. Da Silva kept the breaststroke crown at the end of the day by winning the 100-yard breaststroke (53.94). He enters the final day of the invitational representing both of Missouri State's gold medals.

Reese Hodgins set a personal best in the 200-yard freestyle (1:36.67) en route to his second silver-medal finish of the weekend. His new best time overtook the time he set against Drury on Oct. 25 to break the Hammons Student Center Pool record. Hodgins finished exactly one second behind Lynn University's Vitaly Kostin (1:35.67), who Hodgins beat to take the best time in the prelims. 

The Bears took two spots on the 200 free podium as Jack Grandy finished right behind Hodgins in third with a time of 1:38.26, a season-best for the junior.

Missouri State capped off the night with a win in its first 800-yard freestyle relay of the season. The group of Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama, George Holesinger, Grandy and Hodgins put down a time of 6:33.60, nearly five seconds faster than the rest of the field.

In diving, Storm Opdahl matched his fifth-place result from the prelim of the 1-meter dive with a score of 272.80 in the finals.

Missouri State returns to the pool in Indy on Saturday for the final day of the House of Champions. Swimming prelims will start at 9:00 a.m. followed by diving prelims at 11:30 a.m. The finals for both swimming & diving commence at 4:30 p.m.

Men's Scores after Day 2
1.    Missouri State - 890.5
2.    IU Indianapolis - 728.5
3.    Lewis University - 593.5
4.    Lynn University - 511
5.    Saint Louis University - 500.5
6.    UIC - 497
7.    Milwaukee - 488
8.    Missouri-St. Louis - 362.5
9.    Missouri S&T - 354.5
10.  Quincy University - 279
11.  Northern Kentucky - 77

Women's Scores after Day 2
1.    Marshall - 861.5
2.    Missouri State - 807
3.    Little Rock - 634
4.    UIC - 618
5.    Milwaukee - 563
6.    Lynn University - 445.5
7.    North Texas - 359
8.    IU Indianapolis - 302
9.    Butler - 223
10.  Saint Louis University - 184
11.  Missouri-St. Louis - 159
12.  Lewis University - 147
13.  Quincy University - 48