Jan. 20, 2005
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri men's swimming and diving team closes out its home season against the Drury this Friday evening, while the women's squad will take on the Panthers the same night and then finish the home portion of its schedule the following afternoon against Iowa State.
The weekend's meets don't just mark the end of this season's action at the MU Natatorium, but the final meets in the history of the Missouri swimming and diving program in the building. Both the men's and women's teams will move to a state-of-the-art Olympic-sized facility, housed in the Student Recreation Center, next season.
"It's the end of an era," Missouri head coach Brian Hoffer said. "There's a lot of great history, a lot of fun meets and memories, in that pool. It's going to be emotional, more so for me than some of the younger kids. I've coached hundreds of great athletes in that facility, and we've had some of our biggest wins there."
Friday's meet also takes on another air of finality, as it will serve as Senior Night for both Mizzou squads. Three men's swimmers - Chris McCrary, Matt North and Jacob Thomas - will be making their final appearance in a home meet, and, despite the fact that they will return to action the following afternoon at the MU Natatorium, women's swimmers Mariona Costa, Becca Dawson, Amanda Morford, Megan Morford, Lindsay Palbykin and Belinda Wood, as well as diver Anna Massey, will be honored Friday night.
"They're in a unique situation - they're the last group to come through [the MU Natatorium]," Hoffer said. "We've had a huge turnaround this year and the seniors deserve a lot of credit. They've done a fantastic job."
The Tiger men (4-1, 0-1 Big 12) will be looking for their fifth consecutive dual meet victory Friday against an undefeated Drury squad (3-0). Mizzou defeated in-state rival Southwest Missouri State, 156.5-86.5, in its last outing, while the Panthers overtook Louisiana-Monroe 136-94 the last time they swam.
"This going to be a difficult meet," Hoffer said. "Drury has done a good job recruiting some foreign athletes and they're extremely talented. We've raced them before and this meet is going to have some really good matchups."
The Mizzou women's squad (4-2, 1-1) faces its second back-to-back meets in as many weeks against Drury (1-2) and Iowa State (3-3, 0-0). Against Drury, the Tigers will be looking to build on the 170-73 victory they earned over Southwest Missouri State in their last outing, and they'll go for their second Big 12 win of the season the following day against the Cyclones.
"The women are swimming really fast right now," Hoffer said. "If they can do what they're capable of doing, they can have a good weekend. Both of our opponents have great athletes. We really don't have any easy meets."
Last season, the men's team suffered a 137-106 loss when they visited Springfield to take on Drury, while the women emerged victorious by a 150-90 score. The men, however, are 2-0 this season in dual meets against in-state foes; the women are 1-1 against Missouri schools, having beaten SMS but falling to Truman State.
The Tiger women have won their last five meets versus Iowa State, dating back to the 1999-2000 season.
Friday evening's meet begins at 6:00 p.m. and admission is free. Prior to the meet, the Tiger seniors will be honored and the Special Olympics will hold a relay event. The women swim again at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, again with free admission.