Stretching to the finish of the 400-yard freestyle relay was Miami University's Ryan McHugh as he sealed the deal for the RedHawk men's swimming and diving team against Cleveland State University Saturday afternoon.

"I was pleased with the good races we had this weekend," Head Coach Pete Lindsay said. "We eyeballed our competition and raced really well."

The 'Hawks beat Cleveland 137-106 and improved their record to 3-2. Miami was able to right the ship against the Vikings, after falling at Cleveland State a year ago.

"Because of last season, we really wanted to get a win against them," senior Paul Ricard said.

Gaining the momentum earlier and building a lead on the Vikings was the main point of emphasis Saturday.

"We wanted to come out strong in the early events with a lot of enthusiasm," McHugh said. "We wanted to establish momentum and win the early freestyle events."

The RedHawks did just that by taking first and second in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Ricard and Darin Smith led the RedHawk attack in the distance events. Ricard finished first in both the 1,000- and 500-yard freestyle, with Smith backing him up and capturing second in both events.

"Freshman Darrin Smith has been a consistent hard worker," Lindsay said. "Sophomore Mike Carroll has also been swimming really well this season."

McHugh took first in the 50-yard freestyle and helped the RedHawks get out to an early lead that would stand to be too much for the Vikings to overcome.

"Our depth guys really stepped up and got the tough third and fourth places," Lindsay said.

Other event winners included Nick DuPuis in the 200-yard butterfly and Chris Heaton in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. The RedHawks were able to rely on the exceptional diving to help sustain the lead.

"Our divers always provide some much needed support," McHugh said. "We can always count on them to be big contributors to our success."

The 'Hawks' next meet will be at home Friday, Nov. 16, when they will take on the No. 15 nationally ranked Ohio State University Buckeyes. OSU has been a solid team this season and will be a tough test for the RedHawks.

"We will need to really go after the events we know we can compete with them in," McHugh said. "They are a very talented team and will definitely be a tough opponent."

The Miami Invitational is two weeks after the Ohio State meet and the 'Hawks want to make sure that their fitness level is at its prime for the invitational.

"We don't want to rest too much for Ohio State because we want to stay in good shape and be able to perform at our best at the Miami Invite," Ricard said.

Along with continuing their success in duel meets this season, the 'Hawks have even bigger aspirations for the remainder of this season. They are looking to make a big impact in their newly restructured MAC conference, which this year includes both MAC teams and teams from the Sun Belt conference.

"Out of the MAC teams, we really would like to beat Eastern (Michigan)," McHugh said. "As for the Sun Belt teams, we want to have a good showing and make the other teams aware of what a good (swimming and diving) program Miami has."