Both of Eastern’s swim teams returned home from conference competition Sunday morning earning a fifth-place finish at the Summit League Championships.

The Summit League Championships were held Feb. 15 to Feb. 18 in Rochester, Mich. The other five teams competing were Oakland, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Western Illinois and Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis.

For the men, Oakland placed first, following with South Dakota State, South Dakota, IUPUI and Eastern and Western Illinois. On the women’s end, Oakland also won, followed by South Dakota State, South Dakota, IUPUI, Eastern and Western Illinois.

Although Eastern earned next-to-last place in the competition, there is no reason for the teams to hold their heads down, according to junior athletic training major Michael Bower. Bower explained that the team performed well considering they have been outnumbered roster wise the entire season.

When describing his third Summit League Championship appearance, Bower revealed that he was both excited and calm before the opening horn. “I was really excited to see how the team and me would perform,” Bower said. “I was nervous because I was swimming in an event I never had competed in before (1650-yard Freestyle).”

The team was determined to show they were a dangerous team regardless of size according to Bower.

Mackenzie Anderson earned a fourth-place finish in the women’s 200-yard Medley, while Olga Livshits, Morgan Roberts and Katelynn Paige placed fifth in the 200-yard Freestyle.

Anderson, Kelli DiCanio, Paige and Livshits qualified for fourth place in the 400-yard Medley. In the 400-yard Freestyle, Livshits, Mary Lacine, Katie VanHootegem and Paige placed fifth. Lacine, VanHootegem, Nikki Peck and Hailey Foss placed fifth in the 800-yard Freestyle.

For the men, Michael Lacine, Rich Waszak, Chacour Koop and Joe Ciliak placed sixth in the 400-yard Freestyle. Lacine also placed fifth in the 200-yard Freestyle with Daniel Enge, Adam Jones and Matt O’Hagan.

Waszak, Koop, Lacine and Ciliak placed fourth in the 800-yard freestyle, while Waszak, Enge, O’Hagan and Ciliak placed fourth in the 400-yard Medley.

Bower is looking forward to next season, but says the team needs to make roster improvements in order to compete with best again. “We’re deep, but we need to pickup more recruits to keep up in numbers with the other schools,” Bower said.

Nick Blankenship can be reached at 581-7942 or nrblankenship@eiu.edu.