MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING

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Men's Swimmers Open MAC/Sun Belt Championships

Thursday's finals

NASHVILLE, TN – Competition began Thursday at the MAC/Sun Belt Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at the Tracy Caulkins Pool at the Centennial Sportsplex with the University at Buffalo picking up some impressive performances.

Zach Ruske

Junior Zach Ruske (Superior, CO/Monarch) set the UB school record in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:52.43, surpassing Kevin Remaly's 1995 mark of 1:52.57. Ruske was the fastest MAC swimmer in the event, placing 11th overall and third in the consolation final. Ruske touched out Eastern Michigan's Donald Ellison (1:52.44), the only other MAC swimmer to make the top 16 in the event by one-hundredth of a second.

Sophomore Michael McDowell (Rush, NY/Rush Henrietta) earned a third-place finish on the one-meter diving board. McDowell tallied 284.10 points for his six dives in the championship round. McDowell placed behind second-place finisher Chris Heaton of Miami, the MAC's Diver of the Year the past two seasons, among MAC entrants. Freshman Clayton Sutton (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville Dewitt) scored points for the Bulls with his preliminary performance on the one-meter board with a total of 213.60 to take 14th place.

Michael McDowell

UB's two relay squads also posted season-best marks on Thursday night. The 400-yard medley relay team finished eighth among the 10 teams in the timed finals with a clocking of 3:28.04, shaving more than three seconds off their previous best. The foursome included Andrew Tamchyna (Newmarket, Ontario/Newmarket), Jordan Matthews (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), Scott Woster (North Pole, AK/North Pole) and Ruske. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Kevin Schuster (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena), Sterling Gell (Lansing, NY/Lansing), Colin Wilbert (Albion, NY/Albion) and Tamchyna finished ninth in a season-best 1:25.99, more than two seconds better than their previous top time.

The Bulls also picked up some lifetime-best swims in the preliminary round falling short of reaching the night's finals. Sophomore Connor Vander Zalm (Kelowna, British Columbia/Kelowna) finished 21st overall in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:38.73, a quarter-second better than his previous best. Schuster placed 20th in the 50-yard freestyle in 21.35, also a lifetime-best.

UB stands seventh overall and third among the MAC schools in the team standings with 65 points. Denver and Missouri State lead the overall race with 205 points apiece while Eastern Michigan is the top MAC school with 177.5 points for third place overall. The combined meet will be scored as one meet, but student-athletes and teams from each conference will be recognized separately. The top three finishers from each conference will be awarded medals and the top teams from each conference will be named their respective champion.

Competition continues through Saturday.

Team scores (after day one): Denver 205, Missouri State 205, Eastern Michigan 177.5, Western Kentucky 147.5, Miami (Ohio) 109, Southern Illinois 101, Buffalo 65, Evansville 46, Florida Atlantic 40, Ball State 35.