Oct. 16, 2001

By Marcus Bishel

One would think the top freestyle swimmer in, not only New Hampshire but, all of New England would have little motive to come to Missouri. However, Rochester, New Hampshire native Justin Zeimetz said he was blown away when he came to Mizzou. Zeimetz, New England's top freestyle sprinter, briefly considered Clemson but he said Missouri showed the most interest and had an "awesome" swimming program.

Zeimetz says the 50 meter freestyle is his favorite event and he believes sprinters must have a different mentality than other swimmers. "Sprinters are confident but not cocky. You can't go into an event and be nervous. You have to think you can do this", said the Tiger freshman. Zeimetz says he looks up to Olympic champion Gary Hall Jr. as someone to pattern his swimming after "because he is hardcore in the pool." He says sprinting is all mental --just like Hall they have to go all out and think only about the finish.

Zeimetz will be expected to contribute immediately to the Tigers and he feels Tiger head coach Brian Hoffer has helped him with this transition, "Coach Hoffer has taught me a lot and he has fixed my stroke." Zeimetz said he also learned a lot when he qualified for last years U.S. Open. Justin said he learned by watching Olympians such as Ed Moses, Neil Walker, and Meagan Quan.

Justin feels he can compete with the top swimmers in the Big 12 and one of his top goals this year is to make both the Big 12 Championships and the NCAA Championships. He said, "My main goals are to help the team win and contribute to the best of my ability."