Missouri
PittsburghInvite
Women's Swimmers Win Pittsburgh Invite
11/18/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 18, 2001
COLUMBIA, Mo.- The Missouri women's swimming and diving team claimed the Pittsburgh Invite on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Tigers scored 1,493 points during the three-day meet in dominating the competition. Pittsburgh, the host school, finished in second place with 966 points, followed by Miami (FL) (807) and Ohio State (481).
Meanwhile, the Missouri men's team finished in second place with 1,051 points. Pittsburgh, ranked No. 20 in the country, racked up 1,573 points to win the meet. Ohio State finished third with 511.5 points while Miami came in fourth with 357.5.
Headlining the Mizzou women on Sunday were freshmen Mariona Costa and Becca Dawson, along with sophomore Rebecca Wolfe. Costa won the 200 breaststroke on Sunday and broke the school record in a time of 2:17.56. On Saturday, Costa broke the school record in the 100 breaststroke. Tiffany Bohon came in second place in the 200 breaststroke (2:20.21), improving on her fourth fastest time in school history.
Wolfe and Dawson dominated the 200 butterfly event. Both swimmers earned NCAA consideration cut times in the event. Wolfe won the event in a school-record time of 2:00.66. Dawson finished in second place in a time of 2:02.71, the third fastest time in school history.
Senior diver Erin Wilke also hit a milestone by qualifying for the NCAA diving competition on the platform. Wilke came in second place with a score of 412.35. The NCAA Zone meet takes place the first week of March.
The Tigers got on a roll in the first event of the afternoon, the 1650 freestyle. Senior Molly Vetter led the charge for Mizzou with a third place finish in a time of 17:14.30. Lizza Igoe came in fourth place (17:18.09) followed by Katy Chandler (17:21.28). Sarah Stowe came in seventh place in a time of 17:28.28.
Missouri also placed four finalists in the 200 backstroke, led by Sarah Lo who came in second place in a time of 2:02.81. Freshman Amanda Morford was third in a time of 2:05.06. Shannon Hollsten (2:09.83) and Sarah Stowe (2:10.42) came in sixth and seventh places respectively.
Sophomore Andrea Nigh led four Missouri swimmers in the 100 freestyle with a winning time of 51.07 seconds. Senior Tara Brooks came in fifth place (52.77) followed by Lindsay Palbykin (tied for 6th/52.83) and Ellen Cross (8th/52.96).
The Tigers were also winners in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Nigh, Cross, Palbykin and Brooks won the race in a time of 3:27.64
The men's team got off to a great start in the 1650 freestyle. Junior Dane Pedersen, the school record holder, finished in second place with an excellent time of 15:41.69. Freshman Josh Boyd claimed the second fastest time in school history (15:43.62) by taking third place. Another freshman, Blake Davis, came in sixth place (16:17.21) and sophomore Eric Sullins finished in eighth place in a time of 16:42.69.
Matt Ferrarelli came in fourth place in the 200 backstroke for Mizzou. Ferrarelli finished in a time of 1:52.39. Dustin McKnight took seventh place with a time of 1:55.14.
Sophomore Tyler Belanger keeps getting faster in the 100 freestyle. He turned in fourth place time of 46.15 seconds on Sunday.
Freshman Matt North came in second place in the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:05.37. That time ranks second all-time in Missouri history. Sophomore Stephen Darmitzel capped off the best meet of his career by finishing in fifth place in the 200 breast (2:07.82).
Senior Shane Whildin came in fourth place for the Tigers in the 200 butterfly in a time of 1:54.13. Brady Knippenberg was eighth in a time of 2:02.46.
Jamie Sweeney continued to climb the ladder in the diving events. Sweeney came in fourth place on Sunday on the platform after finishing seventh on the three-meter board and fifth on the one-meter.
The Tigers came in the third place in the 400 freestyle relay to close out the meet. The team of Bellanger, Justin Zeimetz, Ferrarelli and Ryan Searby turned in a time of 3:08.78.
Both Missouri teams are off until Dec. 7 when they host Truman State at the Univeristy Natatorium in Columbia.
