Women Swimmers and Divers Have One More in 1999
11/30/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
The final stop this semester for the Missouri swimming and diving teams will be at the Indiana Invitational, December 3-5 in Bloomington, Ind. At last year's Indiana Invitational, the women claimed the team title after defeating host Indiana on the final event of the meet, the 400 freestyle relay. The men faired well finishing 3rd as a team behind South Carolina and Purdue.
The 1999 version of the Indiana Invitational will feature new teams that present the Tigers with a tough challenge over the weekend. On the women's side the MU will face Arkansas, Southern Illinois, Tennessee and host Indiana. The men's competition will feature Southern Illinois and Indiana.
The meet will be a prelim and final format with the top 8 times qualifying for the finals with the 9th through 16th place times qualifying for the consolation finals. The prelim session begins at 10:00 am with the finals session commencing at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Saturday's session will be held at different times with the prelims beginning at 9:00 a.m. and the finals session starting at 3:00 p.m.
Women Claim Another
For the women, the meet was never really close. MU came took control of the dual by sweeping the top three spots in the 200 medley relay and never looked back. The Mizzou women won every race and claimed the swept the top spots in all but two events. Many of the Tigers got to even swim a few events that are not their regular events.
Hoffer was happy with the way the women swam. His goal for the team was not necessarily to swim fast times, but to concentrate on swimming smart races working on strategy. Many of the women impressed him throughout the meet.
"WIU had a difficult time matching up with us. We preformed well for how hard we were training heading into the meet. I was mostly concerned with smart racing. The way Rikki swam the 200 fly was a highlight for me. Ellen Cross' 200 free was a personal best which was great for this time of the season."
Senior Rikki Janes continued to shine. She won the 200 fly while also leading off the victorious 200 medley relay. Tawney Larm also won the 200 IM for her third victory of the season, all in different events. There were a total of nine Tigers that claimed wins during the dual. The only double winners were sophomore Erin Wilke who was victorious in both diving events and freshman Sarah Stowe who won the 200 back and the 500 free.
Women Add Two For the 2000-01 Season
Jessica Shaw joins Missouri team after swimming in Hoffer's hometown in Mesa, Ariz. The individual medley and distance freestyle specialist will compliment current distance swimmers, Molly Vetter and Sarah Stowe next season. She will also be looked upon to help replace Mizzou standout Tawney Larm in the individual medley events. Shaw placed sixth at the 1998 west junior national championships. She will be able to impact the Tigers from the start as well as discuss Phoenix Suns basketball with Hoffer next season. The new Tiger plans on majoring in Pre-Medicine.
Shannon Hollsten comes to Missouri after a solid high school career in the swimming hotbed of Texas. The 6 foot backstroke specialist is a good early commitment for the Tigers. She comes from a great swimming family. Her two sisters also compete in the collegiate ranks. She competes in the 100 and 200 backstrokes and will start the process of replacing four MU swimmers that currently compete in the backstroke events.
Janes Taking Charge
Rikki Janes has become Missouri's "go-to" woman this season. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native is undefeated in the backstroke and butterfly events after seven dual meets this season. In all, Janes has won seven individual events and swam on four MU winning relays all during the first half of the season. Her margin of victory in the 200 back and 200 fly thus far has been an average of three seconds.
