Oct. 8, 2005
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The first competitive meet in the Mizzou Aquatic Center proved to be a dramatic one, as the Missouri men's swimming and diving held on to win the men's side of the first-ever Show-Me-Showdown on the strength of a first-place finish from sophomore diver David Boyko on the 1-meter board. The Tigers finished 3.5 points ahead of Missouri State and 16.5 points in front of Drury.
The Tiger women had an easier time of it in their first action of the season, finishing 68 points ahead of the nearest competitor, Missouri State.
"We have a lot of things to work on, but I'm pleased overall," Mizzou head coach Brian Hoffer said. "This was a good early-season judgment of where we are, and now we can start to focus on where we want to be."
The women's 200 free relay team of sophomore Katie Gates, freshman Lauren Cox, freshman Lori Halvorson and junior Shannon Hogan earned the first-ever intercollegiate win in the MAC, clocking in 1:36.43. Missouri State collected the first-ever men's win in the facility with their triumph in the 200 free relay, but were closely followed by the Mizzou team of sophomore Bennett Clark, senior Chris Lukas, freshman Brian Difford and sophomore Alex Zasadny.
The Tigers swept the first three places in the women's 100 IM, with sophomore Jill Bastien taking first, followed by Halvorson and Cox, respectively. Clark was the highest men's finisher in the 100 IM, placing third.
In the men's 100 fly, sophomore Lex Howard boosted the Tiger cause with a runner-up finish in a time of 51.68, and freshman Gilad Kaufman went 51.69 to notch a third-place finish.
Halvorson recorded her first individual collegiate win in the next event, the women's 100 back, with a time 57.72.
The Tiger women began to pull away after Bastien again led a trio of Mizzou swimmers to top-three finishes in the 100 breast. Following Bastien (1:06.06) were freshmen Kayla Bowcutt (1:06.25) and Erin Yeager (1:06.90). Junior Nate Zabel earned a runner-up finish in the same event to add valuable points to the team's score.
The women continued their dominance of the meet in the 200 free, as freshmen Jill Granger and Carly Sullivan battled for the win. Granger ended up the victor, with a time 1:52.57, but Sullivan was right on her heels with a time 1:52.76.
The men's 200 free turned out to be the turning point in the meet on the men's side. Freshmen Brad Hubbard and Kaufman came through with second and third-place finishes, respectively, and propelled the Tigers to the lead.
Going into the intermission, Mizzou led second-place Missouri State by a score of 150-145.
In the men's 400 free relay - the second event after intermission - Clark took to the water for the last leg trailing Henrik Weible of Drury for third place. In an effort that proved to be of vital importance to the Tiger's victory, Clark caught his opponent in the final 50 yards and claimed the runner-up spot for Mizzou.
Though the Tigers did not win a swimming event on the men's side all day, senior captain David Darmitzel and sophomore Brandon Lee took second and third, respectively, in the men's 200 IM (despite the fact that Lee swam in the second-to-last heat) and Zasadny collected a runner-up finish in the 50 fly to help the Tigers maintain a small lead heading into the 200 medley relay.
Unbeknownst to the Tiger swimmers, Boyko was in the process of pacing the field in the men's 1-meter dive to add crucial points to the effort. Senior Evan Watters contributed a third-place finish in the event.
In the final event of the meet, the team of Lukas, freshman Byron Carlisle, Zabel and freshman Danny Harty battled to a third-place finish, clocking in behind teams from Missouri State and Drury.
When the swimming scores were tabulated, Mizzou sat in second place, behind Missouri State, by just one-half of a point. When the diving scores were added in, however, Missouri was named the victor, and combined with the women to sweep the first-ever meet in their new facility.
"The men's side was just a great meet," Hoffer said. "We didn't show our dominance, but our depth really came through. I'm so pleased about how the team hung together for the whole meet."
"I'm also pleased with the women. They got up and raced everyone, and our depth was a big factor in this win."
The Tiger women will hit the pool again Thursday night, as they take on nationally-ranked Texas in a dual-meet precursor to Friday's Big 12 Relays. For all the latest on Missouri swimming and diving, visit www.mutigers.com.
1. MIZZOU 328.00 2. Missouri State 324.50 3. Drury 311.50 4. Missouri-Rolla 204.00 5. Washington U. 173.00 6. Truman State 127.00 7. Saint Louis 121.00
1. MIZZOU 359.50 2. Missouri State 291.50 3. Drury 280.00 4. Truman State 214.00 5. Saint Louis 211.00 6. Washington U. 171.00