Jan. 18, 2007

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State swimming and diving team will head to Oakland University for its final dual meet of the season, Friday in Rochester at 5 p.m. The Spartan men and women will go into the meet following losses to Purdue. The men, 1-5, will look for their second win of the season, while the women, 2-5-1, will look for their second non-conference victory.

The Spartans
Last week against Purdue the Spartan men fell by a score of 202-98, while the women were beaten 187.50-110.50. Adam Schmitt recorded victories in the 200 freestyle (1:39.62), 50 freestyle (20.88) and the 100 freestyle, clocking in at 45.02. Freshmen Sho Koba also swam to victory in the 500 yard freestyle, touching the wall in 4:36.34. For the Spartan women, sophomore Marlys Fuqua swam to victory in the 1000 freestyle (10:26.12), and senior Megan Reponen won in the 200 butterfly (2:06.28).

Grizzlies Breakdown
The Oakland men own a 7-4 record, and come into this weekend following a win over Kenyon College. Junior Zoltan Horvath set two pool records, winning two individual events, and freshman Marcin Unold won two individual and one relay victory.

The Oakland women are currently 6-8 in dual competition. The women narrowly lost their last meet against Kenyon, 145-143. Tara Baxter swept each backstroke event for the Grizzlies and freshman Missy Butcher swept the diving events, while posting personal-best scores on the one- and three-meter boards.

The Last Meeting
The two schools met last season in East Lansing, with both the Spartan men and women coming away with the win. The women's diving events were a high point of the meet for the Spartans, with MSU posting one-two-three sweeps of the both the one- and three-meter boards. The Michigan State women also took the top three in the 50 freestyle, in addition to claiming the top spot in five other events to defeat the Grizzlies, 149.5-97.5.

Final Dual
This is the final dual for the Spartans during the 2006-07 season, as the Big Ten Championships are quickly approaching for both the men's and women's squads. The women's Big Ten Meet will be held from Feb. 8-11 in Minneapolis, Minn., while the men are set for competition from Feb. 16-19 in Columbus, Ohio.