Missouri State and Southern Illinois battled back-and-forth on the final day of the Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championship Saturday, Feb. 20, but the Salukis ended the Bears’ eight-year run of consecutive conference championship crowns, winning by just a half a point over Missouri State at Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium.
The host Salukis finished with a total 799.50 points, just ahead of the Bears’ 799 points for their 15th MVC championship in school history. SIU earned its first women’s swimming and diving title since the 2007 season, while Missouri State finished runner-up for just the second time in the past 14 seasons.
The final score was the closest margin of victory in Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championship history.
“We knew it was going to be close,” Bears head coach Dave Collins said. “Really, tonight’s finals session (felt) like a boxing match. I just kind of felt like we kept going at each other and each team had a big event, then came the next big event and it was crazy how that works.
“That’s why we play sports. It’s hard to be on the half point losing side of it, but I’m proud of our kids. I just asked them to fight to the end and that’s what we did. I’m proud of them for that.”
Missouri State held a 767-765.50 lead over SIU heading into the final event of the championship, the 400-yard freestyle relay, after the Salukis earned top two finishes in the 3-meter diving A-final. In order to win the MVC title, the Bears needed to finish ahead of the Salukis in the relay.
MSU’s ‘A’ relay squad of Loretta Stelnicki, Dora Kiss, Sydney Zupan and Rebecca Amparano swam next to SIU the entire race. The two relay teams were never separated by a second throughout the duration of the race. When it came down to the final touch at the wall, the Bears finished in a school-record time of 3 minutes, 24.35 seconds, topping the previous record by over a second that was set in 2010.
The Salukis, however, beat MSU and earned the runner-up finish by just .65 seconds with a time of 3:23.70. Northern Iowa won the event in a conference- and pool-record time of 3:23.56.
Missouri State took a 31.50-point lead following the last individual race of Saturday finals, the 200-yard butterfly.
The Bears took the top five spots in the 200 fly, with Kiss leading the way with a conference-record 1:58.30 finish. Amparano finished runner-up with a personal-best time and NCAA ‘B’ standard of 1:59.29, while Josie Pearson earned the bronze medal with a time of 2:02.48. Emma Wall took fourth in a lifetime mark of 2:02.89 and Ibby Simcox took fifth in 2:04.02.
Hanna Flanagan earned a season-best finish of 2:06.49 in the B-final for 11th overall and Lauren Williams won the C-final in a lifetime-best 2:07.73.
“The emotions, the nerves and the stress that comes with being in this situation, it’s incredible what our athletes did tonight to keep us in the hunt all the way to the end,” Collins said. “That’s why I’m proud of them, that’s why we do this and that’s why we train. They’ll be better next year. Hats off to Southern Illinois, they earned it.”
Of the 20 events during the championship, MSU won seven total races with six individual titles and a first-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay included. Kiss finished off her fourth appearance at the MVC meet by sweeping all three A-finals she competed in and was named MVC Swimmer of the Year following the championship. Amparano took first in two events in her final appearance at the Valley Championship, and Wall earned her first title of her career in the 100 fly.
Zupan led MSU in the 200 backstroke with a fourth-place finish, after she’d earned her top time of the year (2:00.86) in preliminaries. Briana Horozewski (2:04.09) earned her season-best time in prelims and placed fifth, while Emily Chesser took sixth in the A-final with a lifetime mark of 2:03.69.
CeCe Etter (2:04.65) earned her top time of the year while taking second in 200 back B-final, as did Quincy Howell with a time of 2:06.09 in a first-place finish in the C-final.
MSU’s Loretta Stelnicki was the top finisher for the squad in the 100 freestyle, taking fourth in a lifetime-best 51.37. Hope Ernhart (51.98) took first in the B-final and Anna Bump (53.30) placed first in the C-final. Shawna Elsey also notched a season-best time of 53.33 in the 100 free prelims.
Achieving a ‘B’ cut and runner-up finish for the Bears was Lauren Pavel, whose 2:15.66 finish in the 200 breaststroke was the fastest of her career as she missed first-place honors by just .11 seconds. Olivia Gean also advanced to the A-final and completed a season-best time of 2:19.96 for fourth place. Andi Burroughs completed her top time of the year of 2:24.19 in the C-final.
Heather Snyder and Emma Metz both made podium appearances for MSU in the 1650 free. Snyder completed the mile in 17:16.25 for seventh, while Metz earned a season-best 17:20.52. MSU’s Brianna McCullough took ninth in a personal-best time of 17:25.82.
“This group has not been in this situation before and I thought we responded really well all the way to the end,” Collins said. “Again, I’m proud of them. It’s a great group of seniors, we’re going to miss them very much and their great leadership. But we’ll be back, and we’ll be back strong.”
Nine Bears – which included Amparano, Kiss, Pavel, Pearson, Stelnicki, Horozewski, Wall, Zupan and Nina Privitera – were honored as first-team all-conference selections. Eight more MSU athletes – Bump, Chesser, Ernhart, Simcox, Gean, Metz, Snyder and Alexis Skiniotes – picked up all-conference honorable mention accolades.
