Feb. 3, 2006
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Missouri women's swimming and diving has won five consecutive dual meets after earning a 150-87 win Friday evening, while the men fell to the Panthers by a score 144-97 in their final dual action of the campaign.
"The women took control of the meet early, and then they just went out and raced without having to worry about the score," Mizzou head coach Brian Hoffer said. "They had great intensity and put up some good in-season times. Diving stepped up for us, which is something we need."
"The men had a little bit of a tough start and Drury took advantage," he said. "We don't want to make excuses for ourselves, but our lineup was a little shuffled tonight because some guys have been sick this week. We're young and we're learning how to swim on the road in college, so this is going to happen sometimes."
The women won eight individual events, including both diving competitions, en route to earning their eighth win over Drury in the last nine years.
Junior Shannon Hogan, freshman Lori Halvorson and freshman diver Kendra Melnychuk were multi-event winners for the Tigers on the evening. Hogan claimed victory in the 50 and 100 free with times of 23.97 and 52.19, respectively, while Halvorson won the 200 free with a time of 1:52.06 and came back later to win the 500 free with a time of 4:58.98. Melnychuk took first on the 1 and 3-meter boards, scoring 269.25 and 289.28, respectively.
Freshman Carly Sullivan won the meet's first individual event, the 1000 free, with a time 10:18.64. Junior co-captain Amy Charley got in on the winning ways in the 200 IM, touching first in a time of 2:06.90.
The Tigers were especially dominating in the diving events. In addition to wins on both boards from Melnychuk, the Mizzou women's divers took second and third in both competitions. Senior Nicole Frazier placed second (238.65) and sophomore Rachel Witt placed third (235.58) on the 1-meter board, and junior Kim Massaro was the runner-up (244.95) and Frazier took third (238.43) on the 3-meter.
The Tigers paced the field in a similar fashion in the 200 free. Halvorson took the win, but following close behind were classmates Lauren Cox, who placed second with a time of 1:54.28, and Jill Granger, who finished third in a time 1:55.42. Cox would later add a runner-up finish in the 200 back with a season-best time of 2:04.10.
Other notables for the Tigers on the women's side included sophomore Jill Bastien's second-place finish in the 200 IM (2:08.10), freshman Coralie Baumann's runner-up effort in the 200 fly (2:07.62) and senior Laura Pontecore's third-place showing in the 200 fly (2:09.89).
"We had some women swim really well tonight," Hoffer said. "Coralie Baumann has really come on for us lately. Lori Halvorson's win in the 500 free was big because she usually doesn't swim that event. Overall, it was team effort, though."
A combination of youth and experience led the way for the Mizzou men Friday evening, as freshman Gilad Kaufman and senior diver Evan Watters both picked up wins. Kaufman got his first career win in the 200 free (1:42.49), while Watters - fresh off of receiving the Big 12 Diver of the Month honor earlier in the day - won both the 1 and 3-meter competitions, with scores of 334.20 and 355.13, respectively. His score on the 3-meter board is a new Drury pool record.
The Tigers were able to show their depth most poignantly in the 200 back, which was won by senior Chris Lukas with a time of 1:51.09. Following close behind him were senior Garrett McCaffrey, who placed second with a time 1:52.02, and sophomore Travis Floyd, who touched in third with a time of 1:53.23.
Kaufman also turned in a runner-up performance in the 200 fly (1:52.78), and senior co-captain David Darmitzel did the same in the 200 IM (1:54.13). Sophomore Brandon Lee, fighting sickness, was able to place second in the 500 free - the only event he was able to swim in the meet - with a time of 4:36.00.
"Not only was Brandon's swim really gutsy, but it was also the most exciting race of the night on the men's side," Hoffer said. "He really made a move in the last 100 (meters) to give us those second-place points. Gilad gave us some really good swims and Evan's just been on fire for us."
The Mizzou women will return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the Mizzou Aquatic Center against Nebraska. It will be Senior Day for both the men's and women's squads. Admission to the meet is free.