Jan. 18, 2003
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
The wind chill in Columbia this afternoon hovered around 10 degrees, but inside the University Natatorium the action was heating up. As flurries of snow fell outside, the Tiger swimming and diving teams played host to in-state rival Southwest Missouri State in dual meet competition.
The men's team (4-4) won 9 out of the 13 events and pulled away from SMS in the final four events to win 134-109.
The men's team started off strong with a victory in the 400 medley relay. The team of Chris Lukas, Radu Miclaus, Matt North and Tyler Belanger won with a time of 3:26.32.
Belanger added a victory in the 50 freestyle (21.27) to set off a chain reaction of Tiger victories. Matt Ferrarelli won the 200 individual medley (1:53.28) followed by North and Stephan Darmitzel. Ferrarelli also won the 200 backstroke (1:50.96). Miclaus won the 200 butterfly (1:54.69) and Matt North won the 200 breaststroke (2:06.59). The men's team secured the victory with a win in the 400 freestyle relay. In the most exciting race of the day Belanger out-touched the Bear's Raichin Antonov to bring home the win for the team of Lukas, Ferrarelli and Ryan Searby. They won with a time of 3:08.43 ahead of the Bear's time of 3:08.44.
The men's diving team played a major role, winning both the 1 and 3-meter boards. Freshman Evan Watters qualified for the NCAA Zones with his winning score of 336.23 in the 3-meter. Senior Jamie Sweeney finished second and also qualified for the Zones with his score of 322.28. Sweeney then won the 1-meter with a score of 320.10, followed by Watters (315.00). Both scores qualified them for the NCAA Zones in the 1-meter.
The teams return to action on January 24 for a home dual against Drury University at the University Natatorium. The start time is 5:00 p.m. and will be Senior Day for the men's team. The women's team will have their senior day the following day against Iowa State.