MEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

Bulls Taken Down By Eagles

Zach Ruske

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo men's swim team fell to defending Mid-American Conference champion Eastern Michigan, 136.5-94.5, on Friday afternoon at UB's Alumni Arena Natatorium in the league opener for both squads. The Bulls are now 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the MAC while the Eagles are 3-1 overall and 1-0 in league action.

The Bulls won five events on Friday in the 13-event competition.

Junior Zach Ruske (Superior, CO/Monarch) scored a rarity as he tied for first place in the 200-yard freestyle. Ruske turned in a season-best 1:44.32, cutting more than three seconds off his previous best for the season, simultaneously touching the wall with Eastern Michigan's Dan Kish.

Ruske finished second to sophomore teammate Andrew Tamchyna (Newmarket, Ontario/Newmarket) as both swimmers turned in season-best times in the 200-yard backstroke. Tamchyna touched the wall first in 1:53.31, seven seconds better than his season-best. Ruske knocked three seconds off his previous-best with a second-place finish of 1:53.64.

Also turning in a season-best mark with a victorious race was sophomore Kevin Song (Ottawa, Ontario/Sir Robert Borden). Song took the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:15.10, a three-second improvement from earlier this season.

Sophomore Michael McDowell (Rush, NY/Rush Henrietta) scored a victory in the three-meter diving event. McDowell turned in a six-dive total of 298.20 points for the UB win.

The Bulls also scored a relay victory as the foursome of Kevin Schuster (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena), Sterling Gell (Lansing, NY/Lansing), Brandon Beckinghausen (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville North) and Richard Shi (Ottawa, Ontario/Merivale) took the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:16.75.

The Bulls host MAC rival Ball State on Saturday at Alumni Arena Natatorium with the first race slated for 1:00 pm.