Tigers Finish Third at Big 12 Relays

Friday, October 24

Lawrence, Kan.

9:00AM

University of Missouri

Big 12 Relays

Sophomore Francie Szostak swam with four of the Mizzou's seven third-place finishing teams

10/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving

Oct. 24, 2008

Complete Results

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The No. 18 women's swimming and diving team finished third at the annual Big 12 Relays, tying Kansas with 62 points. The No. 21 men's team finished second for just the second time in the history of the meet.

"We were battling back and forth all afternoon with Kansas and it came down to the last few events," said Hoffer. "I think it's good for us for our dual next week, which should be a lot of fun. I felt that we struggled in the morning and it took us awhile to get going, but as the meet went on we improved."

No. 7 Texas edged out No. 9 Texas A&M for first place, scoring 102 points. The Aggies totaled 98 points.

"Texas looked great out there and A&M looked very solid," said Hoffer. "It was a battle between us and Kansas for third, which is how it usually ends up."

The women scored seven top-three finishes on the day. Seniors Jill Granger and Carly Sullivan combined with junior Colleen Gordon to post Missouri's lone second-place finish on the day, finishing the 1500 free in 15:10.10

The trio of sophomore Lauren Lavigna, freshman Amber Molina and sophomore Francie Szostak took third in the 300 back, touching in 2:52.75. Lavigna and Szostak teamed up with senior Lauren Cox later in the meet to finish third in the 150 back with a time of 1:19.49.

Mizzou also posted third-place finishes in four different freestyle relay events. In the 100 free, freshman Lisa Nathanson, senior Allie Bennett, Cox and senior Lori Halvorson finished in 44.97. Nathanson and Halvorson joined with Gordon and Szostak in the 200 free and Cox and Bennett in the 400 free. The 200 free relay squad swam in 1:37.20, while the 400 free team touched in 3:29.31. The 800 free relay team of Halvorson, Gordon, Szostak and Granger completed their run in 7:32.39.

The diving twosome of senior Kendra Melnychuk and freshman Jordan Morcom posted big scores for Missouri. The duo finished second behind Kansas in the 1-meter after scoring 266.80 points. In the 3-meter, Melnychuk and Morcom struck gold with their score of 297.90 points to help push them in a tie with rival Kansas. Kansas would finish fourth in the event.

"No one really looks great this time of year, so getting that competitive edge is really the key," said Missouri Diving Coach James Sweeney. "It's really about who can put it together well enough to beat everyone else. We figured out a way to fight through it today and beat some great teams."

The men posted numerous strong performances through the day, winning gold in third different events and finishing second in seven events.

The trio of junior Martin Cernansky, freshman Michael Lopresti and senior Ted Harris contributed with two of the three Tiger wins on the day, touching first in the 150 and 300 breast relays. The team's time of 1:20.86 in the 150 breast edged out the 1:20.93 time posted by the Texas squad. In the 300 breast, the Tigers dominated, finishing in 2:56.34 and winning by over three seconds.

Freshman Jan Konarzewski, Cernansky, senior Gilad Kaufman and sophomore Jordan Hawley also contributed with a victory, as the foursome took first in the 100 Medley relay, finishing in 43.71. Later in the day, the team earned a runner-up finish in the 200 Medley relay, touching in 1:33.48.

Missouri's diving duo of junior Greg DeStephen and sophomore Dante Jones scored big points for the Tigers after taking gold in the 1-meter relay-style event. Later, in the 3-meter, the Tiger tandem impressed again, posting a score 279.05 to edge out Texas A&M for second.

The men return to the pool on Saturday, Nov. 7 when they'll take on Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. The women will come back home next weekend to take on Kansas in the Border Showdown battle at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.

Final Standings

Men