Jan. 16, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Fresh off of dual wins over in-state rival Missouri State on Saturday, the Missouri men's and women's swimming and diving teams will travel to Iowa this weekend for more dual competition. The Tiger women will be in the water Friday night against Big 12 foe Iowa State in Ames, as well as the following day when they face off with Iowa and Illinois in Iowa City; the Mizzou men will join their female counterparts in the water on Saturday, but will only engage in a dual with Iowa.
"With three dual meets in two days, this is going to be really challenging for the women both mentally and physically," Mizzou head coach Brian Hoffer said. "Anytime you swim a Big 12 dual it's going to be a challenge. Then we drive to Iowa City and we won't arrive until about midnight, which is something we've never done. Swimming against two Big Ten teams in their house is going to be a challenge, but we just need to take it one race at a time."
"The men are feeling pretty good after winning such a tight meet last weekend," he said. "This team is pretty young and there are some challenges coming up, but one of the things we wanted to do this season was challenge the team."
The last time the Mizzou women competed, they cruised to a 196.5-98.5 victory over Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. The women set six pool records and claimed victory in each individual event they didn't swim as exhibition en route to earning their first dual win of the season.
The Tiger men were more tested than the women in their last outing, but managed to come away from the Missouri State meet with a 156-144 triumph. Senior diver Evan Watters turned in a score of 321.53 on the 1-meter, good for a pool record. On the swimming side, sophomore Bennett Clark dominated the sprint free events, winning the 50 and 100 free with times of 20.94 and 45.91, respectively, and senior Chris Lukas placed in the top-three in three individual events. The men have now won eight of their last nine dual meets.
The Mizzou women have taken six consecutive decisions against Iowa State, including a 188-107 win last season in the final dual meet ever held in the MU Natatorium. They haven't faced Iowa or Illinois since earning 175-125 and 196-98 victories in Iowa City and Champaign, respectively, during the 2002-03 season. Overall, the Tigers have taken two out of three from both the Hawkeyes and the Illini, dating back to the 1999-00 season.
The men's squad heads to Iowa City for the second straight year, traveling back to the site of last season's 213.5-149.5 victory. The win was the first win over the Hawkeyes during the Hoffer era, but Iowa has taken four of the last five series meetings.
"The meet last week had a great atmosphere, and I expect the same this weekend," Hoffer said. "Anytime you swim a Big Ten team, you experience a different attitude. On the women's side, Iowa and Illinois are going to have a battle, and we're going to be right in the middle of it. We need to find a way to make our presence felt."
This weekend marks the second of three consecutive weekends in which the Tigers face nothing but road competition, and the second of four in a row in which the team faces at least one opponent on the road (they have a road meet Friday, Feb.3, before the women host Nebraska the following day). Before the winter break, the team swam its final three meets on the road, and the total of consecutive road meets will reach eight before the Nebraska dual.
A win at Iowa State on Friday would give Hoffer his 99th career dual win on the women's side, meaning that he would be in the hunt for career win 100 on Saturday. If the team falls Friday in Ames, a sweep on Saturday would still give the 14th-year head coach the century mark.