Around Alumni Arena later this week, it might be possible to hear the sound of records breaking. Some of the fastest swimming that UB has seen in a long time is expected Thursday through Saturday when the Bulls host the MAC Men's Swimming Championship Meet. The winners this weekend will likely qualify for NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, on March 27-29.
Eastern Michigan leads after the regular season with a record of 10-1, undefeated in the MAC at 5-0. Ball State (11-3, 4-1) is second with their only loss at the hands of Eastern. After those two, Toledo (7-5, 3-2), Buffalo (3-5, 1-4) Miami (4-8, 1-4) and Ohio (2-6, 1-4) will have to duke it out for third place.
The UB men are coming off a seventh place finish (of 30 teams) at the East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships last weekend in Pittsburgh. Many swimmers posted top times of the season, and they hope to go even faster at home in the next few days.
"Even though we did a slew of lifetime bests while we were down there, historically we have come to the MAC meet and beaten those times a couple of days later," said head coach Budd Termin.
Eastern Michigan leads the MAC in a number of individual events and relays. Seniors Kevin Doak, Sean Joyce and Jeff Luhn all hold the top in-season times in the 100-yard backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, respectively. Other Eastern swimmers, Justin Breitigam, John Bartlet and Ben Sutton, have posted top times in the 200 backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, respectively. These trios could be hard to beat, but in swimming, in-season times do not hold much water at championships.
"If we swim well, we can certainly challenge any of the teams in the conference," said Buffalo senior captain Tony Lizauckus.
The UB men are lead by sophomore breaststroker Aviv Oren. His previous season best was second in the conference in the 200 breaststroke, and he bested that time by a second on Saturday at the ECACs. Oren has already surpassed his 100-breaststroke time from last year and looks to be a contender in that event, as well.
In the longer distances, freshman distance swimmer Mark Sy will be worth watching. He has already lowered his previous bests from high school and is looking to go even faster. The Bulls' divers have been scoring big all season, especially freshman Pat Lee. Termin's best asset in this championship meet may be the fact that his team is well rounded, as they have scoring hopefuls in every event.
"There is no one particular area (that's better than another). We really have a number of good swimmers that have the ability to get back (to score) across all of the races, so for me at these types of meets, it's really about having a good well-balanced meet, swimming all of the sessions well," said Termin.
The MAC sent swimmers to NCAA Championships last year, and likely will again, most notable Doak from the Eagles, who has already achieved the NCAA Provisional Cut in the 100 backstroke. Some swimmers have their sights set even higher.
"In the last Olympic cycle, 23 swimmers from the MAC made it to Olympic Trials ... in fact, swimming leads the MAC in the amount of people that qualified for Olympic Trials," said Termin.
The meet will start with preliminaries at noon on Thursday in Alumni Natatorium. Diving events take over the pool at 2 p.m. At 7 p.m., the fastest 16 swimmers in each event and relays swim again in finals. Student spectators are welcome, though there will be a $3 admission fee. Swimming well consistently in both sessions over three days has been one of the biggest challenges that swimmers and coaches face.
"In this kind of meet you have to light it up right from the beginning, and then you got to be really mentally tough," said Termin, "because this isn't a physical challenge, it's a mental challenge."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
