Jan. 29, 2005
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Missouri men's swimming and diving team (6-2, 0-1 Big 12) earned a split this weekend in their final dual action of the season, defeating Iowa 213.5-149.5 and, despite a late rally, dropping a close decision to Penn State in Iowa City.
"This is our first win over Iowa on the road in recent history, maybe even our first-ever," Missouri head coach Brian Hoffer said. "It's a big win and adds a positive note to the weekend."
The battle with Penn State began on Friday night, when the Nittany Lion swimmers jumped out to an early lead. Junior Evan Watters would, however, take first place on both 1-meter (317.17) and 3-meter (347.10), and freshman Jeff Wolfert added a pair of fourth-place finishes, to keep the Tigers close.
"The divers did a great job, winning both boards," Hoffer said. "They came through and kept us close heading into Saturday."
Even though the Tigers were on the wrong end of disqualifications in two relays during the meet, Missouri found itself within striking distance of the Nittany Lions as the meet wound down, trailing by less than 20 points despite a 1-2 finish by Penn State in the 200 butterfly.
Tigers senior Chris McCrary jump-started the comeback effort in the next event, winning the 100 freestyle with a time of 46.35. Junior Chris Lukas responded with a first-place finish in the 200 backstroke (1:51.20) and pulled Missouri to within five.
Dustin Thompson of Penn State claimed victory in the 500 free, but his effort was partially offset by freshman Brandon Lee's second-place finish in a time of 4:38.80.
The Missouri breaststrokers were the next group to lead the comeback charge. Senior Matt North (2:02.27) took first in the 200 breast, while sophomore Peter Willet (2:09.33) finished third and junior David Darmitzel (2:09.71) touched in fourth.
The Tiger rally came up just short, however, as the Penn State A squad out-touched the team of McCrary, freshman Bennett Clark, freshman Travis Floyd and Lukas by .04 in the 400 free relay to earn the dual victory.
"This was one of the most exciting dual meets I've ever been a part of," Hoffer said. "We're a young team and we made some mistakes, but the guys never gave up. We fought our way back and were in a great position to win, but we just couldn't pull it out."
McCrary led the way for the Tigers with wins in the 100 fly (50.12) and 50 free (20.92) in addition to his victory in the 100 free. North added a win in the 200 IM (1:53.95) to his first-place finish in the 200 breast. Willet and Darmitzel each turned in a runner-up finish for Missouri, in the 1650 free and 200 IM, respectively.
The Tiger men have now won six of their last seven dual meets and head into the Big 12 Championships (Feb. 23-26) with a 6-2 record after finishing the 2003-04 campaign with a mark of 1-5.