Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Finish Second To SMS At 2003 MVC Championships
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Feb. 22, 2003
Carbondale, Ill. - Senior Jake Sinclair won the 3-Meter dive in record breaking fashion, fellow senior Amber Mullins won the 200 back and sophomore Marcelo Possato won the 200 back, leading the Southern Illinois University men and women to second place finishes behind SMS at the 2003 MVC Swimming & Diving Championships at the Student Rec Center. The SMS women won their first MVC title, snapping SIU's five year hold on the trophy, while the SMS men claimed their third title in four years after SIU claimed the trophy last season.
The SIU men (956 pts.) cut into the 85 point deficit they faced after day two, but lost to the Bears (1018) by 62 points in the end. Evansville finished a distant third with 468 points. "Obviously we're disappointed with the loss and nobody hates losing more than I do except my team. The guys did a good job and I'm very proud of them. There are no losers today and if we came up short, that's my fault not the guys. We did everything we could today. Marcelo Possato and Jake's wins today were impressive," said Rick Walker, SIU men's coach.
Sinclair won his first MVC title with 564.80 points, breaking the 3-Meter record of fellow teammate Joel Hanger (560.75) in 2001. His score of 564.80 qualifies him for the NCAA Diving Zone Meet March 13-15 in Austin, Texas. Sinclair also finished second in the 1-Meter dive Thursday and was named MVC Men's Co-Diver of the Year with SMS senior Jonathan Waldon.
Possato became the only Saluki to win two events when he won the 200 back in 1:47.04, breaking the school record set by Matt Munz (1:47.51) during the 2000-01 season. His time of 1:47.04 is good enough to make the NCAA B cut and earn him a possible shot at the NCAA Meet in Austin, Texas on March 27-29.
SIU also received all-MVC performances (top three) from Ivan Sanchez (2nd, Mile), Ryan Jackson (2nd, 200 breast), Jason Sigler (3rd, Mile), Edoardo Daelli (3rd, 100 free), Miguel King (3rd, 200 breast) and Derek Helvey (3rd, 200 fly).
The Saluki women (721 points) improved from third to second on the final day but couldn't catch SMS (888) to make it six straight titles. Illinois State (706) was a close third, followed by Evansville (465) and Northern Iowa (353).
"I was impressed that the team battled back to finish second. We competed. We're young and we'll get better. I'm excited that Amber (Mullins) won a title in her final year and has overcome injury and many obstacles. She deserves it and it's a great way to end a career. She'll always remember her last swim," said Jeff Goelz, SIU head women's coach.
Mullins won her first career MVC title on her final day of competition at SIU to help the Salukis overtake Illinois State. Brigitta Olson (2nd, 200 fly), Ashley MacCurdy (2nd, Mile) and Briley Bergen (3rd, Mile) also added all-conference performances for SIU.
Notes: Twenty SIU athletes were named to the All-MVC team (finishing in the top three) after the meet. They are as follows: Devin Aikins, Briley Bergen, Edoardo Daelli, Adam Gangl, Derek Helvey, Ivan Sanchez, Ryan Jackson, Andrea Johnson, Miguel King, Sakis Lambrou, Ashley MacCurdy, Liz McGowan, Amber Mullins, Brigitta Olson, George Oxinos, Marcelo Possato, Jason Sigler, Jake Sinclair, Suzanne Souders and Christian Tinajero.
The Salukis also placed 13 athletes on the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team (minimum 3.0 grade point average and meet performance). The following athletes were honored for their athletic and academic accomplishments: Devin Aikins, Edoardo Daelli, Ryan Jackson, David Likar, Danilo Luna, George Oxinos, Jake Sinclair, Andri Hadjiantoniou, Andrea Johnson, Bronwyn Logan, Ashley MacCurdy, Brigitta Olson and Melinda Page.