After winning the Mid-American Conference Championship in 2011, the men's swimming and diving team has remained a top team in the conference but hasn't been able to clinch a championship.
The trend continued this season.
UB hosted the Mid-American Conference Championships at Alumni Arena Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Bulls scored 657 points, good for a third-place finish. Missouri State won its first MAC Championship with 833 points and Eastern Michigan finished second with 682.
"[After the meet], I told the seniors how proud I am of them and what they have meant to this program over the past four years," said head coach Andy Bashor. "I told the guys I was proud of the effort they put in. But when we walk off this pool deck, next year starts now. We're not where we want to be and we have a lot of work to get to where we want to be."
When the Bulls won the MAC Championship in 2011, members of the team's senior class were freshmen. They have been strong leaders for the underclassmen, according to Bashor.
This weekend, seniors Dan O'Connor and Mike Dugan led the Bulls. In his final swims at Alumni Arena, Dugan won the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly; he was the only Bull with multiple victories. Dugan's 50-yard freestyle time of 19.84 is a new school and pool record, as is his 100-yard butterfly time of 47.32.
Dugan finished second in his third individual event, the 100-yard freestyle. His time of 43.67 was .06 slower than the winning time.
In his final swim, Dugan swam the closing leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay. He made up one spot, helping the Bulls finish fourth. After the race, he lingered in the water for a moment before pulling himself out of the pool.
"It's kind of bittersweet," Dugan said. "I'm kind of glad to be done, but I know I will miss it. It's real nice to have it at home, to see all my fans, all the alumni here. It's emotional."
O'Connor won the 1,650-yard freestyle with a school record and pool record time of 15:04.66. He finished second in the 400-yard individual medley and third in the 500-yard freestyle.
Senior Eric Culver, freshman Scott Huang, sophomore Billy Patrum and freshman Charles Barry were all named to the All-MAC second team.
"We've got a good future," Bashor said. "I'm excited about the young guys. We have to get them in the weight room, get some muscle on them. They've got a great work ethic, and we just have to improve if we are going to get to the top."
Sophomore Antonio Lanzi finished seventh in the 200-yard individual medley and eighth in the 200-yard freestyle. Sophomore Bill Caffee and freshman Reid Zyniecki finished in the top eight of the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Freshman diver Cade Bennett also made significant contributions for the Bulls, finishing second in the 1-meter dive and fifth in the 3-meter dive.
Bashor also highlighted senior diver Chris Iafrati's performance. Iafrati had never made an 'A' final at a MAC Championship until he qualified in his final event for the 3-meter 'A' final on Friday. Iafrati finished sixth.
A few Bulls qualified for the NCAA Championships with 'B' cuts, which means they will have to wait and see if they will have a chance to swim there. The NCAA Championships take place in Austin, Texas, starting March 27.
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Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
