Jan. 21, 2005
COLUMBUA, Mo. - Senior night at the MU Natatorium did indeed belong to the seniors Friday evening, as the Missouri men's swimming and diving team avenged last season's loss to Drury, 181-118, on the strength of three individual wins by senior Matt North and two by senior Chris McCrary. Not to be outdone, the Tiger women cruised to a 193-106 victory over the Panthers, spurred by two individual wins each by seniors Mariona Costa and Becca Dawson.
The men's squad started the meet off on the right foot, with the team of junior Chris Lukas, North, McCrary and freshman Bennett Clark clocking in at a new pool-record 3:23.01 in the 400 medley relay.
The Missouri men (6-1, 0-1 Big 12), would, however, find themselves trailing Drury early in the meet, but the deficit wouldn't last long. North won the 100 breast in a time 56.98, only .06 off of his own school record, to give Mizzou a 47-46 lead. McCrary and Clark finished first and second, respectively, in the 50 free to give the Tigers a seven point that they wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the night en route to handing Drury (3-1) its first loss of the season.
"I felt like this was going to be a difficult meet on the men's side," Missouri head coach Brian Hoffer said. "Chris McCrary and Matt North both did a phenomenal job. Bennett Clark came up big for us, anchoring our relays and finishing second in the 50 free. That's big for a freshman."
North would go on to win the 200 breast and 200 IM, and McCrary would contribute a win in the 100 fly to the Tiger cause.
The Missouri women (5-2, 1-1), on the other hand, jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Wins by sophomore Kim Gainey and senior Lindsay Palbykin, in the 1000 and 200 free, respectively, helped distance the Tigers from Drury (1-3) in the early going.
Costa took first place in the 100 and 200 breast, Dawson finished first in the 100 and 200 butterfly and sophomore Amy Charley won the 200 IM for the Tigers.
"You have to give credit to the seniors tonight," Hoffer said. "They really got the women going. Now we have another challenge tomorrow on the women's side."
The Mizzou men and women also fared well on the diving board Friday evening, taking the top three places in both men's and both women's competitions.
Junior Evan Watters took the men's 1-meter with a score of 362.40, followed by freshman Jeff Wolfert and junior Aaron Wionzek. Watters also placed first in the men's 3-meter dive with a score of 372.20. Wionzek took second in the 3-meter, followed by Wolfert.
Senior Anna Massey took first in the women's 1-meter dive on senior night, tallying a 248.18 score. She was followed by junior Nicky Frazier and sophomore Kim Massaro in that event. Frazier bounced back to take the women's 3-meter with a score of 259.95, trailed by Massey and freshman Rachel Witt.
The Mizzou women hit the pool again Saturday afternoon, when they take on Big 12 foe Iowa State at the MU Natatorium at 12:30 p.m. Admission is free. The men's squad is off until January 28, when they travel to Iowa City, Iowa to face Iowa and Penn State.