Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, March 5
Jones Natatorium
11 a.m./7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
MAC Championships
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Eagles Claim Program's 33rd MAC Championship
3/5/2016 6:29:00 PM | M. Swim & Dive
The Eagles won eight events on their way to the MAC title
Complete Results (PDF)
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University men's swimming and diving team claimed the program's 33rd Mid-American Conference Championship, March 5. The Green and White crowned three more individual champions in addition to winning the final event of the day, finishing the meet with 846 points.
The final session began with the 1650 Freestyle, where the Eagles placed two inside the top-eight and another inside the top-16 to score points for the Green and White. Junior Kyle Lichtenberg (Clarkston, Mich.) turned in a seventh place finish while fellow junior Chris Cutter (Fishers, Ind.-Fishers) claimed eighth. A 14th-place finish by junior Marcin Rzyski (Olsztyn, Poland-Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace #4) capped the event for EMU.
Moving onto a EMU-loaded 200 Backstroke championship heat, the Eagles posted four of the fastest times in Eastern Michigan history. Junior Cole Bateman (Hutchinson, Minn.-Hutchinson) bested the field, completing the sweep of the backstroke events with a career-best time of 1:44.51. Bateman's sweep of the backstroke marked the third time in the past four years that the Green and White have accomplished the task. While Bateman completed the individual sweep of the events after winning the 100 Back earlier this week, the Eagles swept the top-three places in the event. Senior Erik Gissen (Karlstad, Sweden-Alvkullegymnasiet) touched in less than a second behind Bateman while freshman Tosh Kawaguchi (Cary, N.C.-Cary) claimed third with a time of 1:45.82. Gissen's finish ranks third in EMU laurels while Kawaguchi's career-best comes in at fourth. Freshman Ricky Perez clocked in with a sixth-place finish and Cutter placed eighth.
As he did one day prior, senior Andrew Henry (Garner, N.C.-West Johnston) followed up Bateman's MAC Championship performance with a win of his own, this time claiming the 100 Free. Shaving one hundreth of a second off his record-breaking preliminary time, Henry touched in with a NCAA 'B' consideration time of 43.34, breaking school, pool, MAC, and meet records. With the title, Henry became the first Eagle to win the event since 2010 when Justin Grigg's time of 44.12 bested the field. Also competing in the event was freshman Jake Tyson (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Northgate) who dropped more than a tenth of a second off his preliminary time to set a career-best. Tyson touched in at 44.45, just three hundreths of a second behind the fourth-place finisher.
With Henry and Bateman each taking home two conference swimming titles, the duo became the first pair of Eagles to accomplish the feat since 2013 when Jacob Hanson won three individual events and Mike Fisher claimed two.
In the next event, junior Kyle Aerne (Lake Villa, Ill.-Lakes) and senior Chris Hodges (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson) finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 200 Breaststroke. The duo combined to add 25 points to EMU's total as the Green and White added to its already hefty lead.
Eastern garnered points from four Eagles in the final individual event of the meet led by a second-place finish by sophomore Logan Burton (Chesapeake, Va.-Hickory). Burton led for a majority of the race but was out-touched in the very end by Southern Illinois' Filippo Dell'Olio. Burton's runner-up finish was followed by senior Krzysztof Gilski (Dywity, Poland-Adam Mickiewicz Secondary School) and Rzyski who claimed seventh and eighth.
Switching over to the springboard, Eastern's divers claimed four of the top-five spots on the 3-meter. Nailing an incredible final dive that scored nearly 80, junior Alex Chan (Toronto, Ontario-Neil McNeil Secondary) scored a 422.75. Chan's score broke both the pool and meet record while falling less than one point short of the conference record, giving the Toronto product his third 3-meter title in as many years. Senior Dan Gironza (New Hudson, Mich.-South Lyon) finished with a score of 379.75 in second-place while sophomore Peter Rusenas (Naperville, Ill.-Naperville Central) and freshman Tom Gillis (Halifax, Nova Scotia-Citadel) reeled in fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively.
Eastern closed out the meet with a bang, winning the 400 Freestyle Relay. Henry teammed up with Gissen, Tyson, and Burton to take the crown with a meet and pool record time of 2:55.23.
In addition to the Eagles dominating performance, Buck Smith was named Diving Coach of the Year while Peter Linn was voted Swimming Coach of the Year. The award marks the 16th in Smith's tenure. Saturday's announcement is the seventh time Linn has received the honor. Andrew Henry was named MAC Outstanding Swimmer and Alex Chan was awarded MAC Outstanding Diver while Tom Gillis was named MAC Freshman Diver of the Year. The Green and White also landed 10 on the All-MAC squads, including five on the first team.
Final Team Standings
1. Eastern Michigan, 846
2. Buffalo, 649
3. Missouri State, 634
4. Southern Illinois, 528
5. Miami, 449
6. Ball State, 147
7. Evansville, 142
Most Outstanding Swimmer: Andrew Henry, Eastern Michigan
Swimming Coach of the Year Peter Linn, Eastern Michigan
Most Outstanding Diver: Alex Chan, Eastern Michigan
Diving Coach of the Year: Buck Smith, Eastern Michigan
Most Outstanding Senior: Uvis Kalnins, Missouri State
All-MAC First Team:
Mason Miller, Buffalo
Itai De La Vega, Buffalo
Cole Bateman, Eastern Michigan
Logan Burton, Eastern Michigan
Alex Chan, Eastern Michigan
Erik Gissen, Eastern Michigan
Andrew Henry, Eastern Michigan
Jake Prodoehl, Miami
Miguel Davila, Missouri State
Uvia Kalnins, Missouri State
Artur Osvath, Missouri State
Andre Luiz Brilhante, Southern Illinois
Filippo Dell'Olio, Southern Illinois
Joao Facciotti, Southern Illinois
Till Paullmann, Southern Illinois
All-MAC Second Team:
Charles Barry, Buffalo
Scott Huang, Buffalo
Antonio Lanzi, Buffalo
Reid Zyniecki, Buffalo
Kyle Aerne, Eastern Michigan
Tosh Kawaguchi, Eastern Michigan
Kyle Lichtenberg, Eastern Michigan
Peter Rusenas, Eastern Michigan
Jake Tyson, Eastern Michigan
Lucas Brock, Miami
Ethan Bresette, Missouri State
Kacper Cwiek, Missouri State
Chris Heye, Missouri State
Uldis Tazans, Missouri State
Michael Wolfe, Southern Illinois
EMU Individual Results
* Denotes season-best
# Denotes career-best
$ Denotes school record
M Denotes MAC record
m Denotes meet record
A Denotes NCAA 'A' cut
B Denotes NCAA 'B' cut
1650 Free
7. Kyle Lichtenberg 15:36.48
8. Chris Cutter 15:38.34
14. Marcin Rzyski 16:06.84
200 Back
1. Cole Bateman 1:44.51
2. Erik Gissen 1:45.41
3. Tosh Kawaguchi 1:45.82
6. Ricky Perez 1:46.73
8. Chris Cutter 1:52.14
100 Free
1. Andrew Henry 43.34 #$BMm
5. Jake Tyson 44.45 #
200 Breast
6. Kyle Aerne 1:59.78
7. Chris Hodges 2:00.75
200 Fly
2. Logan Burton 1:46.73 #
7. Krzysztof Gilski 1:51.01
8. Marcin Rzyski 1:53.06
16. Connor Johnson 1:53.40
3-meter
1. Alex Chan 422.75 Pm
2. Dan Gironza 379.75
4. Peter Rusenas 342.20
5. Tom Gillis 335.95
12. Brendan O'Shea 309.20
13. Nicholas Fox 300.35
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University men's swimming and diving team claimed the program's 33rd Mid-American Conference Championship, March 5. The Green and White crowned three more individual champions in addition to winning the final event of the day, finishing the meet with 846 points.
The final session began with the 1650 Freestyle, where the Eagles placed two inside the top-eight and another inside the top-16 to score points for the Green and White. Junior Kyle Lichtenberg (Clarkston, Mich.) turned in a seventh place finish while fellow junior Chris Cutter (Fishers, Ind.-Fishers) claimed eighth. A 14th-place finish by junior Marcin Rzyski (Olsztyn, Poland-Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace #4) capped the event for EMU.
Moving onto a EMU-loaded 200 Backstroke championship heat, the Eagles posted four of the fastest times in Eastern Michigan history. Junior Cole Bateman (Hutchinson, Minn.-Hutchinson) bested the field, completing the sweep of the backstroke events with a career-best time of 1:44.51. Bateman's sweep of the backstroke marked the third time in the past four years that the Green and White have accomplished the task. While Bateman completed the individual sweep of the events after winning the 100 Back earlier this week, the Eagles swept the top-three places in the event. Senior Erik Gissen (Karlstad, Sweden-Alvkullegymnasiet) touched in less than a second behind Bateman while freshman Tosh Kawaguchi (Cary, N.C.-Cary) claimed third with a time of 1:45.82. Gissen's finish ranks third in EMU laurels while Kawaguchi's career-best comes in at fourth. Freshman Ricky Perez clocked in with a sixth-place finish and Cutter placed eighth.
As he did one day prior, senior Andrew Henry (Garner, N.C.-West Johnston) followed up Bateman's MAC Championship performance with a win of his own, this time claiming the 100 Free. Shaving one hundreth of a second off his record-breaking preliminary time, Henry touched in with a NCAA 'B' consideration time of 43.34, breaking school, pool, MAC, and meet records. With the title, Henry became the first Eagle to win the event since 2010 when Justin Grigg's time of 44.12 bested the field. Also competing in the event was freshman Jake Tyson (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Northgate) who dropped more than a tenth of a second off his preliminary time to set a career-best. Tyson touched in at 44.45, just three hundreths of a second behind the fourth-place finisher.
With Henry and Bateman each taking home two conference swimming titles, the duo became the first pair of Eagles to accomplish the feat since 2013 when Jacob Hanson won three individual events and Mike Fisher claimed two.
In the next event, junior Kyle Aerne (Lake Villa, Ill.-Lakes) and senior Chris Hodges (Lincolnshire, Ill.-Stevenson) finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 200 Breaststroke. The duo combined to add 25 points to EMU's total as the Green and White added to its already hefty lead.
Eastern garnered points from four Eagles in the final individual event of the meet led by a second-place finish by sophomore Logan Burton (Chesapeake, Va.-Hickory). Burton led for a majority of the race but was out-touched in the very end by Southern Illinois' Filippo Dell'Olio. Burton's runner-up finish was followed by senior Krzysztof Gilski (Dywity, Poland-Adam Mickiewicz Secondary School) and Rzyski who claimed seventh and eighth.
Switching over to the springboard, Eastern's divers claimed four of the top-five spots on the 3-meter. Nailing an incredible final dive that scored nearly 80, junior Alex Chan (Toronto, Ontario-Neil McNeil Secondary) scored a 422.75. Chan's score broke both the pool and meet record while falling less than one point short of the conference record, giving the Toronto product his third 3-meter title in as many years. Senior Dan Gironza (New Hudson, Mich.-South Lyon) finished with a score of 379.75 in second-place while sophomore Peter Rusenas (Naperville, Ill.-Naperville Central) and freshman Tom Gillis (Halifax, Nova Scotia-Citadel) reeled in fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively.
Eastern closed out the meet with a bang, winning the 400 Freestyle Relay. Henry teammed up with Gissen, Tyson, and Burton to take the crown with a meet and pool record time of 2:55.23.
In addition to the Eagles dominating performance, Buck Smith was named Diving Coach of the Year while Peter Linn was voted Swimming Coach of the Year. The award marks the 16th in Smith's tenure. Saturday's announcement is the seventh time Linn has received the honor. Andrew Henry was named MAC Outstanding Swimmer and Alex Chan was awarded MAC Outstanding Diver while Tom Gillis was named MAC Freshman Diver of the Year. The Green and White also landed 10 on the All-MAC squads, including five on the first team.
Final Team Standings
1. Eastern Michigan, 846
2. Buffalo, 649
3. Missouri State, 634
4. Southern Illinois, 528
5. Miami, 449
6. Ball State, 147
7. Evansville, 142
Most Outstanding Swimmer: Andrew Henry, Eastern Michigan
Swimming Coach of the Year Peter Linn, Eastern Michigan
Most Outstanding Diver: Alex Chan, Eastern Michigan
Diving Coach of the Year: Buck Smith, Eastern Michigan
Most Outstanding Senior: Uvis Kalnins, Missouri State
All-MAC First Team:
Mason Miller, Buffalo
Itai De La Vega, Buffalo
Cole Bateman, Eastern Michigan
Logan Burton, Eastern Michigan
Alex Chan, Eastern Michigan
Erik Gissen, Eastern Michigan
Andrew Henry, Eastern Michigan
Jake Prodoehl, Miami
Miguel Davila, Missouri State
Uvia Kalnins, Missouri State
Artur Osvath, Missouri State
Andre Luiz Brilhante, Southern Illinois
Filippo Dell'Olio, Southern Illinois
Joao Facciotti, Southern Illinois
Till Paullmann, Southern Illinois
All-MAC Second Team:
Charles Barry, Buffalo
Scott Huang, Buffalo
Antonio Lanzi, Buffalo
Reid Zyniecki, Buffalo
Kyle Aerne, Eastern Michigan
Tosh Kawaguchi, Eastern Michigan
Kyle Lichtenberg, Eastern Michigan
Peter Rusenas, Eastern Michigan
Jake Tyson, Eastern Michigan
Lucas Brock, Miami
Ethan Bresette, Missouri State
Kacper Cwiek, Missouri State
Chris Heye, Missouri State
Uldis Tazans, Missouri State
Michael Wolfe, Southern Illinois
EMU Individual Results
* Denotes season-best
# Denotes career-best
$ Denotes school record
M Denotes MAC record
m Denotes meet record
A Denotes NCAA 'A' cut
B Denotes NCAA 'B' cut
1650 Free
7. Kyle Lichtenberg 15:36.48
8. Chris Cutter 15:38.34
14. Marcin Rzyski 16:06.84
200 Back
1. Cole Bateman 1:44.51
2. Erik Gissen 1:45.41
3. Tosh Kawaguchi 1:45.82
6. Ricky Perez 1:46.73
8. Chris Cutter 1:52.14
100 Free
1. Andrew Henry 43.34 #$BMm
5. Jake Tyson 44.45 #
200 Breast
6. Kyle Aerne 1:59.78
7. Chris Hodges 2:00.75
200 Fly
2. Logan Burton 1:46.73 #
7. Krzysztof Gilski 1:51.01
8. Marcin Rzyski 1:53.06
16. Connor Johnson 1:53.40
3-meter
1. Alex Chan 422.75 Pm
2. Dan Gironza 379.75
4. Peter Rusenas 342.20
5. Tom Gillis 335.95
12. Brendan O'Shea 309.20
13. Nicholas Fox 300.35
Players Mentioned
Breast/IM
/ M. Swim & Dive
Back/Free
/ M. Swim & Dive
Back/Free
/ M. Swim & Dive
Diving
/ M. Swim & Dive
Back/Free/IM
/ M. Swim & Dive
Breast/IM
/ M. Swim & Dive
Diving
/ M. Swim & Dive
Diving
/ M. Swim & Dive
Fly/Free
/ M. Swim & Dive
Diving
/ M. Swim & Dive
Back/Fly/Free
/ M. Swim & Dive
Free/IM
/ M. Swim & Dive
Breast
/ M. Swim & Dive
Fly/IM
/ M. Swim & Dive
Back/IM
/ M. Swim & Dive
Free
/ M. Swim & Dive
Diving
/ M. Swim & Dive
/ M. Swim & Dive
Diving
/ M. Swim & Dive
Free/Fly
/ M. Swim & Dive
Fly
/ M. Swim & DiveEastern Michigan Head Coach Peter Linn
Monday, June 04
Day 3 Recap: 2016 Men's Swimming & Diving Championships
Saturday, March 12
2016 Men's Swimming & Diving Champions: Eastern Michigan
Saturday, March 12
Day 1 Recap: 2016 Men's Swimming & Diving Championships
Saturday, March 12