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Ruske Wins Second MAC Swim Title

Friday's finals

NASHVILLE, TN – The second night of competition in the MAC/Sun Belt Conference Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships concluded Friday night with the University at Buffalo picking up championship points in several events and scoring a MAC champion for the second straight night. The meet, a joint championship for the two conferences is being held at the Tracy Caulkins Pool at the Centennial Sportsplex.

Zach Ruske

Junior Zach Ruske (Superior, CO/Monarch) earned his second MAC title of the meet before even hitting the water on Friday night as he was the lone league racer in the championship heat of the 100-yard backstroke. He finished eighth overall in 51.62. Ruske qualified fifth overall in a lifetime-best 50.78 as no other MAC swimmer qualified higher than 10th in the event. Ruske was also the fastest MAC finisher in Thursday’s 200-yard individual medley final. The first finisher from each conference is considered the league champion, no matter the overall finish. Sophomore Andrew Tamchyna (Newmarket, Ontario/Newmarket) raced in the consolation final, finishing third in the race and 11th overall, in 51.45, also a lifetime-best.

Sophomore diver Michael McDowell (Rush, NY/Rush Henrietta) earned a fifth-place finish on the three-meter springboard. McDowell tallied 307.15 points for his six championship dives, finishing behind Miami's Chris Heaton (382.25) and three Sun Belt divers. Freshman Clayton Sutton (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville Dewitt) finished 14th overall with 211.70 points in the preliminary round.

Michael McDowell

The Bulls also had a pair of finalists in the consolation race of the 100-yard butterfly. Scott Woster (North Pole, AK/North Pole) finished fifth in the consolation and 13th overall in 50.40 while Kevin Schuster (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) was sixth in the race and 14th overall in 50.44. Both swimmers reached Friday's consolation race after posting lifetime-bests in the morning heats, Schuster clocked a 50.13, breaking Eric Balzhiser's 1992 record of 50.43, while Woster clocked a 50.29, also bettering Balzhiser's record.

In Friday's relay races, the Bulls set season-best marks in both events. In the 200-yard medley relay, the foursome of Ruske, Jordan Matthews (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), Woster and Schuster finished seventh in 1:34.19. In the 800-yard freestyle relay, UB's Ruske, Schuster, Richard Shi (Ottawa, Ontario/Merivale) and Woster finished eighth in 6:56.40.

Two other Bulls earned alternate status in the morning preliminaries, just missing racing in Friday’s finals. Sophomore Connor Vander Zalm (Kelowna, British Columbia/Kelowna) posted a lifetime-best with his 4:07.76 clocking in the 400-yard individual medley to place 17th overall. Matthews had a season-best mark in the 100-yard breaststroke in 59.32 to place 18th. The top 16 finishers in the heats move to the finals with the next two finishers named as alternates and available to swim in the finals should there be a scratch.

UB remains seventh overall and third among the MAC schools in the team standings with 152 points. Missouri State leads the overall competition with 484 points, just ahead of Denver's 462. Eastern Michigan is the top MAC program, standing third with 414.5 points. 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 concludes Saturday.

Team scores (after day two): Missouri State 484, Denver 462, Eastern Michigan 414.5, Western Kentucky 371.5, Southern Illinois 256, Miami (Ohio) 227, Buffalo 152, Florida Atlantic 90, Ball State 87, Evansville 86.