University of Missouri
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Kansas
No. 21 Tiger Women Dominate Jayhawks
11/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 1, 2008
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 21 Missouri women's Swimming and Diving team (1-1, 1-1 Big 12) had a huge day in the pool, with numerous swimmers posting new personal bests that rewrote the Mizzou record books as the Tigers dominated the No. 23 Kansas Jayhawks (2-2, 0-2 Big 12), 173.5-121.5.
It's a great rivalry, both teams get up for it and it's always been a good meet," said Missouri Head Coach Brian Hoffer. "It took us a long time to beat them and get to the point where we thought we could go out and compete with Kansas, and I think we've done it."
The Jayhawks jumped out early, claiming the title in the days first event, the 200 medley relay. The Kansas squad of sophomore Iuliia Kuzhil, senior Danielle Hermann, senior Ashley Leidigh and junior Emily Lanteigne swam in a time of 1:43.94 to take first place. The Missouri squad of sophomore Lauren Lavigna, sophomore Morgan McCleery, junior Colleen Gordon and senior Lori Halvorson came in right after them, touching at 1:44.00, the eighth-fastest time in school history. Mizzou's "B" squad of freshman Amber Molina, senior Kayla Bowcutt, senior Allie Bennett and freshman Lisa Nathanson touched at 1:46.48, good for third.
Missouri bounced back in the 1000 free, taking the top three spots and scoring big points for the team. Senior Jill Granger touched first, dominating the event in 10:12.78. Freshman Stephanie Rovig came in second at 10:19.11, while senior Carly Sullivan took third, finishing at 10:21.89.
After that, Missouri turned up the heat. The Tigers would again take the top-two in the next event, the 200 free. Halvorson swam in 1:49.14, edging out sophomore Francie Szostak, who finished in second place at 1:49.95.
"I thought after the 200 freestyle, which was the third event, that we'd really have a tough time winning another event based on our times and their times," said Hoffer " After we won that event, things really started clicking for us. Lori [Halvorson] stepping up like that in the 200 free was huge for us."
In the 100 back, Lavigna set a new personal best, winning the event in 56.22. The time was the fifth-fastest in Mizzou history. She would later win the 200 back, touching at 2:01.27, beating out the second place opponent by over two seconds.
Sophomore Morgan McCleery would later set a new personal record of her own, swimming the 100 breast in 1:04.55. She finished in second place, posting the eighth-best time in school history.
In the 200 fly, Granger earned her second victory of the day, touching in at 2:03.95. Sophomore Melissa Jamerson, the school record-holder in the event, finished right behind her, swimming in 2:04.15.
The Tigers posted a 2-3-4 finish in the 50 free, getting solid runs from Nathanson, Szostak and Bennett. Nathanson finished at 23.62, edged out by just .03 for first place. Szostak touched in third at 24.13, while Bennett swam in 24.29, good for fourth.
As the swimmers entered the first break of the afternoon, the divers stepped into action. Freshman Jordan Morcom continued to put herself on the map, as she scored a 298.58 in the 3-meter and won her third individual crown of the young season. Senior Kendra Melnychuk finished second, scoring 293.02, while freshman Christina Gailey scored points for Missouri after scoring 235.58 and taking fifth.
Coming out of the break, Halvorson would win her second event of the day after she also set a personal best. Halvorson's time of 50.72 in the 100 free beat out her old best time of 50.82, which is third-fastest all-time at MU.
Szostak struck gold for the second time this season, as she was victorious in the 500 free after finishing in 4:58.13. Senior Coralie Baumann earned a tie for third with a time of 5:05.26, while senior Kirsten David scored points for the Tigers after coming in fifth.
Mizzou once again finished 1-2, this time in the 100 fly. Gordon won her first individual event of the season, finishing the 100 fly in 55.95, just .01 off of her personal best. Behind her was junior Molly Bollen, who finished in second with a time of 57.20. After that point, the Tigers would take exhibition runs in the last two swim events.
In the 1-meter dive, the Tiger duo of Morcom and Melnychuk flip-flopped finishes from the 3-meter. This time, Melnychuk hit gold with her score of 281.10, while Morcom scored 269.70 for second. Gailey once again scored points for Mizzou, securing a fourth place spot with a score of 248.47.
The women will be back in action on Nov. 14-15, when they travel to Louisville, Ky., to take on the Louisville Cardinals. The men will take on Southern Illinois in Carbondale, Ill., next Friday, Nov. 7.
Players Mentioned
