Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
MAC Men's Championships
MAC Championships: Day Three Finals
03/04/2016 | 12:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Salukis success continued on Day Three of the MAC Championships with yet another conference title, three all-time SIU records and a Jones Natatorium record. SIU's men have earned three MAC titles so far this week.
SIU added 163 points to the team score on Friday night with several season-best performances, including new school record in the 400-yard medley relay and 100-yard backstroke. SIU remains in fourth place with 344 points overall, with Eastern Michigan, Missouri State and Buffalo leading the meet, in that order.
"We had a great morning with four school records, and then we came back in the evening and things didn't go our way. But what ultimately happened was that our team really came through tonight," SIU head coach Rick Walker said. "When things don't go your way, that doesn't mean that things can't get turned around."
The highlight of the night came at the very end as SIU held off two-time champions from Missouri State to earn the 400-yard medley relay title. SIU's 3:12.43 finish is more than two seconds faster than the previous program record, and marks the third consecutive year that the all-time SIU 400 medley relay record has been broken. Senior Till Pallmann is the only member of the team that has swum on each record-breaking squad. He was joined tonight by Bobby Wood, Lucas de Aquino and Andre Brilhante.
Pallmann's 100-yard backstroke lead off leg broke the SIU all-time 100-yard backstroke for the second time today. Pallmann finished in 47.79, just half a second faster than Joao Facciotti's record breaking time of 48.28 in the 100-yard backstroke prelim race. Pallmann's time would have been the fastest in the 100-yard backstroke A Final earlier in the night.
SIU maintained the lead throughout the race, but less than a second separated the top three teams, with Eastern Michigan just a tenth of a second behind at 3:12.51 and Buffalo following at 3:12.72. The Salukis' 3:12.43 finish broke a Jones Natatorium record, SIU's fourth pool record this week.
Southern came away from the night with impressive finishes from Filippo Dell'Olio, Joao Facciotti, Till Pallmann and Andre Brilhante, with each finishing in the top half of their respective A Finals.
Filippo Dell'Olio started the action for SIU, breaking the all-time school record in the 400-yard individual medley for the second time today. Dell'Olio's 3:51.25 time came in for a third place finish, beating his prelim time and his previous SIU record by just over a second.
The second and third events of the night resulted in two second-place finishes, first by Joao Facciotti in the 100-yard butterfly, followed by Till Pallmann in the 200-yard freestyle. Pallmann's 1:35.34 finish is the second-fastest time in program history. Andre Brilhante came away with an impressive time in the 200-yard freestyle as well, taking fourth place at 1:36.68. His time puts him behind Pallmann as the second-fastest 200-yard freestyle swimmer in school history, and ranks fifth all-time, with Pallmann holding the top-four best finishes.
Bobby Wood, Alex Crawford and Joao Facciotti made the Salukis' last A Final appearances of the night with Wood finishing the 100-yard breaststroke in seventh place and Crawford and Facciotti finishing the 100-yard backstroke in sixth and eighth, respectively.
Seven Salukis competed in B Finals, totaling 21 points for SIU. Lucas de Aquino's 48.17 finish in the 100-yard butterfly was the fastest time in the B Final, earning him ninth place overall. His time would have placed fifth in the A Final. Chris Cole and Alex Martinez competed in the 400-yard IM, while Andy Ross and Patrick Hesse swam in the 100-yard breaststroke. All four swimmers dropped their times, finishing with season bests. Trevor Jones ended the night with a 1:40.65 finish in the 200-yard freestyle.
With 344 points overall, SIU is just six point shy of last year's score after Day Three at 350. The final day of the MAC Championships will begin tomorrow with prelims at 10 a.m. CST. Prelims will include the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke and butterfly.
"Tomorrow should be a good day, but we still have to come out fighting in the morning," Walker said. "Saturday morning can be a little sluggish, but we've always stepped up, and we bear down and go, and we've always had that advantage over other teams."
Live results from Saturday's action can be found here.
Players Mentioned
