University of Missouri
Texas A&M
No. 18 Tigers Fall to No. 9 Aggies
10/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 23, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. - The No. 18 Mizzou women (0-1, 0-1 Big 12) fell to the No. 9 Aggies (4-0, 2-0 Big 12) by a total of 134-104. The No. 21 men's squad (1-0, 1-0 Big 12) faired better against No. 18 Texas A&M (0-1, 0-1 Big 12), defeating the Aggies by the score of 143.5-90.5.
The women put up a tough battle with the defending Big 12 Champions, but ultimately fell short.
"We had a hard time matching up with them," said Hoffer. "We were in a lot of races, we just had a hard time catching them."
Sophomore Francie Szostak took the lone individual title for the women on the evening, taking gold in the 500 free after finishing in 4:57.38. The Tigers' "A" squad of seniors Lori Halvorson, Lauren Cox, Allie Bennett and Szostak would finish in first in the 400 free relay later in the evening, touching at 3:29.44.
Senior Jill Granger earned a runner-up finish in the 1000 free after finishing in 10:10.44, while Halvorson claimed third in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.41. Sophomore Melissa Jamerson earned a third-place finish of her own in the 200 fly later in the evening, posting a time of 2:05.85.
Freshman Jordan Morcom took gold twice in her first dual as a collegiate diver, sweeping both diving events. Morcom scored 269.90 in the 1-meter, and followed that up with a score of 294.50 in the 3-meter. Senior Kendra Melnychuk claimed second in each competition, scoring 266.10 in the 1-meter and 280.50 in the 3-meter.
"Overall, I was very pleased with the effort. We had a lot of energy and the girls were focused, we just weren't able to match up," Hoffer said.
The men jumped all over the Aggies right from the get-go, taking first in the opening event followed by numerous 1-2-3 finishes as the Tigers avenged a disappointing conclusion to last year's Big 12 Championships.
"We came out ready to race," Head Coach Brian Hoffer said. "We were excited about facing a Big 12 team in a dual matchup."
The men opened up the night with a big victory in the 200 Medley Relay. Missouri's "A" team, consisting of freshman Jan Konarzewski, junior Martin Cernansky, senior Gilad Kaufman and sophomore Jordan Hawley, finished the race in 1:32.69, giving the Tigers their first points of the evening.
"After we won that first relay we really felt in control of the meet," Hoffer said. "I feel that A&M had a hard time matching our intensity."
Mizzou followed up the relay victory by posting a 1-2-3 all-Tiger finish in the next two events. In the 1000 free, sophomore Spenser Lauver dominated the event, finishing the race in 9:39.92. Senior Brad Hubbard came in second after touching at 9:56.75, while freshman John Hunt impressed after finishing third at 10:06.36.
In the diving well, sophomore Dante Jones and junior Greg DeStephen finished 2-3 in the 1-meter dive. Jones scored 326.15 on the board, just edging out DeStephen's 320.35. In the 3-meter, the two Tiger divers flip-flopped, as DeStephen took second and Jones finished in third. DeStephen scored 319.55, while Jones scored 301.75.
Both Tiger squads will be back in the pool Friday morning for the Big 12 Relays. The first session is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
