Senior Kim Lambert helped the Mizzou women break the meet record in the 400 freestyle relay.Senior Kim Lambert helped the Mizzou women break the meet record in the 400 freestyle relay.
Swimming & Diving

Missouri Swimming Races Out of the Blocks in Black and Gold Meet

Oct. 13, 2000

COLUMBIA, Mo.- The Missouri men's and women's swimming and diving teams got off to a fast start on Friday night at the annual Black and Gold exhibition meet at the MU Natatorium. The two squads combined to break nine meet records in a tune-up for the regular season which begins next week in Columbia when the women face Arkansas and the men take on Missouri-Rolla.

The men's team, won by the black squad, broke seven of the nine meet records on the evening. The 200-medley relay team of freshman CHRIS TINGLEY, senior captain AARON LO, sophomore RADU MICLAUS and junior BRENT PITZER won the race for the gold team in a time of 1:35.00, a meet record.

Sophomore MATT FERRARELLI, a two-event Big 12 finalist last season, won the 500 freestyle in a meet record time of 4:43.73, eclipsing the old mark by close to two seconds. Ferrarelli came back later and destroyed the meet record in the 200 individual medley. He came less than a second away from breaking his MU Natatorium record with a time of 1:54.96. He later swam the third leg of the 400 freestyle relay that came home in a winning time of 3:11.42, also a meet record.

Seniors MIKE CERVENKA and AARON LO also put up fast times in their individual events. Cervenka, a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier, crushed his own meet record in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:42.26. Lo also broke his own meet record in the 50 freestyle with a very impressive time of 21.19. Freshman TYLER BELANGER placed second to Lo with a debut time of 21.91.

The Missouri women, coming off their best season of all-time, also turned in some impressive performances. Senior JEANNA WILLI and sophomore KATY CHANDLER were both double-winners in individual events. Willi won the 50 freestyle, breaking her own meet record with a time of 24.50. Willi also won the 100 butterfly for the gold team in a time of 59.94. Chandler won the third event of the evening, the 500 freestyle, and then came back in the very next event and won the 200 freestyle.

Freshman SARAH LO was also impressive in her Missouri debut. Lo won the 200 IM in a time of 2:09.70 and then just missed breaking the meet record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.57. Other individual winners for the women included ELLEN CROSS in the 100 freestyle and TIFFANY BOHON in the 100 backstroke.

The women's 400 freestyle relay team also broke a meet record and won the meet for the black squad. Freshman ANDREA NIGH, seniors KIM LAMBERT and KARA BRAMER and Chandler won the race in a time of 3:34.96.