Miami Takes Fourth Place at MAC Swimming & Diving Meet

Saturday, March 6

Ypsilanti, Mich.

7:00 PM

Miami University

MAC Championships

Miami Takes Fourth Place at MAC Swimming & Diving Meet

3/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving

March 6, 2010

YPSILANTI, Michigan - Miami freshman Alex Reinhardt (Littleton, CO) became a two-event winner at the Mid-American Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, adding the 1650 freestyle gold medal to his trophy case Saturday night.

Coach Pete Lindsay's RedHawks were edged out Missouri State for third place by just 12.5 points. Miami totaled 574.5 points to MSU's 587.

Host Eastern Michigan won the MAC team title with 773 points, ahead of runner-up Buffalo (613.5) in the competition at EMU's Jones Pool. Southern Illinois was fifth with 478 points, followed by Ball State (231.5) and Evansville (136.5).

Reinhardt became the first Miami non-diver to win two events at the MAC meet since 2007 when Paul Ricard captured three individual championships. Reinhardt also won the 500 freestyle on Friday night. Reinhardt's victory in the 1650 was just more than a second faster than EMU's Daan Janson (15:39.34 to 15:40.99). Miami's Brendan Melling (Solon) placed eighth in the 1650 at 15:57.45, while Darin Smith (Bossier City, LA) finished 12th at 16:15.34.

Miami divers sparkled in the three-meter finals. Freshman Chris Hoppler (Germantown, MD) finished second with 347.30 points, followed by one-meter MAC champ JIMMY BERES (Columbus) in third (347.15), Mike Grainger (Cincinnati) in fifth (344.15) and Cameron Horner (Columbus, OH) in ninth (340.15). The RedHawk quartet picked up a total of 56 points for their team.

Beres and diving coach KongRong Li won individual awards in the post-event ceremony. Beres was selected as the MAC's Diver of the Year, while Li was chosen by his peers as Diving Coach of the Year.

The 200 backstroke saw Chris Gunnels (Chapel Hill, NC) place seventh (1:49.83) and pick up 12 team points for the RedHawks. Tom Janszen (Cincinnati, 1:53.51) finished 11th and MATT GRUBB (Centerville, 1:54.19) was 13th.

DAVE BROWN (Lake Orion, MI, 45.10) and Mark Healey (Jenison, MI, 45.50) placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 100 freestyle. Freshmen Curtis (Cary, IL, 46.37) and Anderson Whipp (Ft. Wayne, 46.54) were 15th and 16th in the race.

The RedHawks didn't have any entries in the A finals of the 200 breaststroke, but seniors Austin Kosier (Toledo, 2:04.85) and MIKE CARROLL (Toledo, 2:05.38) placed ninth and 12th in the consolation finals.

Junior Jason Hass (Jackson, MI) scored 14 points for the RedHawks by placing fifth in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:50.29. ROB JACKSON (Cincinnati) finished 13th (1:55.13).

In the final event of the night--the 400 freestyle relay--the foursome of Chris Gunnels (Chapel Hill, NC), Brent Curtis (Cary, IL), Healey (Jenison, MI) and Brown combined to swim the distance in a Miami varsity record time of 3:00.44. That broke an 18-year-old record of 3:00.91.

AWARDS:

Swimmer of the Year: Justin Griggs, EMU

Swimming Coach of the Year: Andy Bashor, Buffalo

Diver of the Year: Jimmy Beres, Miami

Diving Coach of the Year: KongRong Li, Miami

All-MAC First Team

Alex Reinhardt Miami

Jacob Hanson EMU

Justin Griggs EMU

Jimmy Beres Miami

Matt Kruse SIU

Jameson Kuper SIU