MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING

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UB Men's Swimming and Diving Announces Awards

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo men’s swimming and diving squad announced its team awards for the 2007-08 season. Head coach Andy Bashor made the following presentations: Clayton Sutton (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville Dewitt) was selected as the Top Newcomer; Scott Woster (North Pole, AK/North Pole) earned the Most Improved Player Award; Michael McDowell (Rush, NY/Rush Henrietta) received the Coaches’ Award; and Zach Ruske (Superior, CO/Monarch) was named Most Outstanding for the second consecutive season.

Clayton Sutton

The Top Newcomer Award is presented to the individual student-athlete who distinguishes himself as the most talented new player on the team or the individual who accomplishes the greatest achievements as a first-year player. Sutton proved to be a capable second scorer behind McDowell in the diving events for the Bulls. He posted a lifetime-best total of 240.60 points on the one-meter board at Binghamton on January 11. He followed with a lifetime-best of 223.20 points on the three-meter board against Miami (OH) on January 26 at Alumni Arena Natatorium. Sutton finished seventh on the three-meter board and eighth in the one-meter competition among Mid-American Conference divers at the 2008 MAC/Sun Belt Championships.

Scott Woster

The Most Improved Player Award is presented to the student-athlete who has made the greatest stride or improvement in his performance from the previous season or from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. Woster, a Second Team All-MAC selection in 2008, set a UB school record in the 200-yard butterfly to highlight his performance at the MAC/Sun Belt Conference Championships. He broke the school record, which had stood since 2003, with his time of 1:52.39 in the preliminary heats and lowered the record to 1:50.81 in the finals, finishing third among MAC swimmers. He also placed fourth among MAC swimmers in the 100-yard butterfly setting a lifetime-best 50.29 in the preliminaries.

Michael McDowell

The Coaches’ Award is selected by the head coach and is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the team virtues as defined by the head coach. The recipient is one who stands out in dedication, commitment, unselfishness and enthusiasm towards helping the team improve. McDowell was named to the Collegeswimming.com First Team All-America squad and was also a Second Team All-MAC selection. He was the second-place finisher in the men's platform diving competition at the NCAA Zone A Championships, held at UB's Alumni Arena Natatorium in March, as he became the second UB male athlete and the first male diver to compete at the NCAA Division I National Swimming and Diving Championships. He finished second in both the one- and three-meter diving events at the MAC/Sun Belt Championships. During the regular season, he set the UB school records on both the one- (344.79) and three-meter boards (382.65), was named MAC Swimmer of the Week three times and earned Academic All-MAC honors.

Zach Ruske

The Most Outstanding Award is given to the student-athlete who makes the most significant contribution to the accomplishments of the team through his skills and leadership. Ruske, named Most Outstanding following the 2007 season, won three individual events for the Bulls at the 2008 league championships, earning First Team All-MAC honors. He set a pair of records at the meet and in two events, won the MAC title before competing in the championship race. Ruske set the school record in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:52.43, surpassing Kevin Remaly’s 1995 mark of 1:52.57. He claimed 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 and finished eighth overall in the final in 51.62 after qualifying fifth overall in a lifetime-best 50.78 as no other MAC swimmer qualified higher than 10th in the event. He also posted a record-setting finish in the 200-yard backstroke as for the second time, he 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.

The Bulls completed their season with a 3-4 overall record and were 1-2 in MAC competition. The Bulls placed third among the MAC schools at the combined MAC and Sun Belt Conference Championships in Nashville.