University of Missouri
Big 12 Relays
Tiger Men Take Third at Conference Relays
10/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Swimming & Diving
Oct. 19, 2007
AMES, Iowa - The Missouri men's swimming and diving team totaled 76 points for a third-place finish Friday at the annual Big 12 Relays, just two points behind rival Texas A&M. The Tiger women also claimed third at the event with a score of 67 points.
"The Relays are always a lot of fun and a good way for us to get our season going," said Missouri Head Coach Brian Hoffer. "The event is a nice change of pace from all the duals we will be racing in this season. The team also enjoyed the `old school' atmosphere of Beyer Pool, which is a lot like our old natatorium."
The Mizzou men's lone relay win on the day came when sophomore Joe Wiedemeier, freshman Jordan Hawley, junior Gilad Kaufman and senior Lex Howard combined for gold in the 100 free relay in a time of 41.37.
The men also raced to three runner-up finishes on the day. In the 1500 free relay, sophomore Dylan Lynn, freshman Spenser Lauver and redshirt freshman Cameron Sellers raced to the win in a time of 14:15.25. Lynn also combined with junior Bryan Difford and classmate Martin Cernansky to take second in the 800 medley IM relay in a time of 8:13.73.
A trio of seniors in Travis Floyd, Joe Wilson and Lex Howard joined in the fun and earned runner-up honors in the 150 back relay in a time of 1:11.68.
The Tigers faired well in the diving well on Friday. The Mizzou `A' team of senior David Boyko and freshman Dante Jones dove to second place in the 1-meter diving relay competition. On the 3-meter board, the Mizzou `B' squad of Jones and sophomore Ryan Meeker put on another runner-up performance for the Tigers. Mizzou's `A' relay team of Boyko and sophomore Greg DeStephen took the third spot in the event.
On the women's side, the Tigers tallied 10 top-three finishes in the pool Friday. In addition to the team's nine third-place showings, Mizzou's 800 free relay squad of freshmen Francie Szostak and Lauren Lavigna, sophomore Colleen Gordon and junior Lori Halvorson combined for a runner-up finish in the race.
In the diving well, the Mizzou `A' team of junior Kendra Melnychuk and freshman Abby Zepeda continued their strong early season diving by combining for runner-up scores in both the 1- and 3-meter diving relay events.
The men will be back in action Nov. 2-4 when they host Virginia Tech, Southern Illinois, Missouri State, Illinois and Drury at the Mizzou Aquatics Center for the Mizzou Dual Challenge.
Players Mentioned
