Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
MAC Men's Championships
MAC Championships: Day One Finals
03/02/2016 | 12:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
YPSILANTI, Mich. – With two events complete at the MAC Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, the Salukis finish Day One of the meet in fourth place with 62 points. Only ten points separate the top four teams, with host school Eastern Michigan leading the pack with 72 points, followed by Buffalo in second with 70 and Missouri State with 68.
The first night of the championship meet ended with the Salukis earning a spot on the podium with a third-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay, along with a fourth place finish in the 200-yard medley relay.
SIU's best finish came with a new all-time SIU record, as the Salukis finished the 800-yard freestyle in third place at 6:31.10. The Salukis' time tops the previous program record, set at last year's conference championships, by only a tenth of a second.
Senior Till Pallmann led the way for SIU's relay team, swimming the first 200 yards of the race in 1:35.85, the fastest time of the season for the Salukis. Pallmann now holds the top four 200-yard freestyle times at SIU as his leadoff leg ranks fourth all-time in program history. Michael Wolfe, Trevor Jones and Andre Brilhante finished out the race, with Brilhante swimming the second-fastest anchor leg of the race at 1:36.40.
Earlier in the night, the Salukis' team of Joao Facciotti, Bobby Wood, Lucas de Aquino and Andres Saavedra opened the meet with a fourth place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, coming in at 1:29.43. SIU's time ranks second all-time in Saluki men's swimming history, and is the fastest for the team this season, dropping nearly five seconds from the previous best. Facciotti's leadoff leg was the fastest time of all teams at 22.23. The Salukis finished the race less than a second out of third place, touching just short of Eastern Michigan.
"We are off to as good as start as any we have had," SIU head coach Rick Walker said. "Tomorrow is a big day, and we have to be prepared for morning swims."
The MAC Championships will continue on Thursday morning, with prelims beginning at 10 a.m. CST. Live results from the meet can be found here.
Players Mentioned
