MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

Men's Swimming Weekly Release

UB Men Finish Seventh at Combined MAC/Sun Belt Meet

The University at Buffalo men’s swimming and diving team finished seventh overall and third among the four Mid-American Conference schools as the Bulls competed at the combined MAC/Sun Belt Championships in Nashville over the weekend. UB tallied a total of 200 points. Missouri State won the overall competition with 688 points, just ahead of Denver’s 654. Eastern Michigan was the top MAC program, finishing third with 589 points. The combined meet was scored as one meet, but student-athletes and teams from each conference were recognized separately. The top three finishers from each conference were awarded medals and the top teams from each conference were named their respective champion.

Ruske Wins Three Titles to Lead the Way

Zach Ruske

Junior Zach Ruske (Superior, CO/Monarch) won three individual events for the Bulls over the weekend, setting a pair of records in the process and in two events, earning the MAC title before competing in the championship race. Ruske began the meet on Thursday by setting 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 as he 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.

On Friday, Ruske earned his second MAC title of the meet before even hitting the water 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.

Saturday, he completed the trifecta with a record-setting finish in the 200-yard backstroke. Again, Ruske earned the MAC title before even competing in the championship race as the lone MAC racer to reach the championship final, turning in a then-lifetime-best swim of 1:48.95 in the preliminaries, the third-fastest among all entrants. In the championship race, Ruske placed third and set a UB school record in finishing in 1:48.50 breaking Jason McLaughlin’s record from 2001 by two-tenths of a second.

McDowell Reaches Championship Podium in Diving Events

Michael McDowell

Sophomore Michael McDowell (Rush, NY/Rush Henrietta) earned a third-place finish on the one-meter diving board on Thursday. 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. On Friday, McDowell finished fifth on the three-meter springboard. McDowell tallied 307.15 points for his six championship dives, finishing behind Heaton (382.25) and three Sun Belt divers. Sutton finished 14th overall with 211.70 points in the preliminary round.

Woster Sets Butterfly Record

Scott Woster

Sophomore Scott Woster (North Pole, AK/North Pole) set a UB school record on Saturday in the 200-yard butterfly. Woster broke Mark Sy’s 2003 record in the preliminary heats and lowered the record with his 1:50.81 clocking in the consolation final of the race to finish second and 10th overall. Woster also raced in Friday night’s 100-yard butterfly consolation setting a season-best 50.29 in the preliminaries.