Feb. 11, 2003

By John Pizzitola
Media Relations Student Assistant

On Friday, January 24, Mizzou diving fans were able to witness one of MU's best male divers compete in the last home meet of his college career and he gave the home crowd a show. Senior diver Jamie Sweeney ended the regular season with two stellar performances against Drury University and the University of Iowa, setting school records at each meet.

On January 24, against Drury, Sweeney started the meet strong, but not quite strong enough as he finished second on the 3-meter board behind freshman Zac Metcalf. Being his last home meet and the 1-meter would be his last home event, Sweeney decided it was now his time to shine and show the fans what he can do. Before the event started, however, Sweeney decided to make the event a little more interesting with some inter-squad competition with fellow MU diver Evan Watters.

"I was just like, 'Evan this is my senior meet and there is no way, no way, you will ever beat me on 1-meter at this meet.' Just doing a little trash talking, but still being friendly."

With the grace and precision that Mizzou diving fans are used to seeing from Sweeney, he won the 1-meter event by nearly twenty points and broke the previous school record (which he owned) of 324.98 with his score of 335.25. Evan Watters came in second.

Ending the home season with such an outstanding performance will continue to be memorable for both Sweeney and MU diving fans.

"Knowing that it was my last year it was good. This was my last meet. I got up on that 1-meter and said, 'this is my senior meet. I gotta do something. I haven't done much all year, so this is the time.' I started thinking back to how awesome it had felt when I would break records in that pool. So I got up there and I told myself, 'I want to get this score really high so it'll at least stay there for a little while."

On Friday, January 31, the Tigers traveled to take on the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. Sweeney once again brought his "A" game. This time, Sweeney showed his skills on the 3-meter board as he claimed first place and broke another Missouri diving record, another record that he had set. Sweeney scorched the competition by nearly forty points and shattered the old school record with his score of 368.25.

Sweeney holds the school record in the 3-meter dive

Sweeney's stellar performances have not gone unnoticed by national and conference audiences. For the month of December, he was named the Big 12 Conference Male Diver of the Month. Sweeney's selection was based on his performance in a dual meet against Kentucky on December 7. The Tigers fell to the Wildcats 133-166, however Sweeney had one of his better meets of the year. Competing against one of the top divers in the country in All-American Clayton Moss, Sweeney held his own and scored a 287.70 in the 3-meter and a 269.63 in the 1-meter.

With such recent success, Sweeney heads into the Big 12 Tournament on fire and, after already qualifying for the NCAA Zone meet, he looks to advance to the NCAA Championships.

"This season I am making NCAA's. I've been messing around the past three years and not making it, just missing by one place here or there. I'm diving out of my mind right now, the best I've ever dove in my life. I'm confident now, and I was never really confident in other years. I used to get to big meets and say, 'Wow, look at these guys.' Now I think of myself as one of those guys. I'm the senior now. Everyone's looking at me now, and they're scared. That's how I like it and that's how I'm going to keep it in my head."

When this season is over and Sweeney's illustrious career comes to an end, Sweeney has plans of being an assistant diving coach alongside Missouri head diving coach Greg Triefenbach.

"After college, Greg Triefenbach and I are going to be partners in running an age group program. The kid's ages will range from as early as they can walk up to college age. Greg will be doing most of the behind the scenes work. I mean the paper work and the business work. I will do the actual coaching, the motivating, getting the kids better and getting them to Nationals."

With the regular season now complete, fans look to watch Sweeney and the rest of the Missouri Swimming and Diving team succeed in the post-season. With the confidence and intensity that Sweeney possesses, look for him to achieve his goal for the season and expect to see him at the NCAA's.