Sept. 29, 2006
If Friday night's Black & Gold meet at the Mizzou Aquatic Center is any indication about the depth and energy surrounding the Missouri Swimming and Diving teams, then the 2006-07 campaign appears to be one of the more memorable seasons in program history.
While the Black squad won the dual 220.5-202.5, it was the 10 combined meet records and 17 events (out of 20) won by non-seniors that had head coach Brian Hoffer buzzing after the meet.
"The relays were really fast, especially the 400 free," said Hoffer, who is entering his 15th season at Mizzou. "Watching our depth was nice as well."
Part of that depth appeared in the form of a pair of freshmen, Colleen Gordon and Dylan Lynn. The first time Gordon touched the water, she swam to a meet record in the 200 free with a time of 1:50.98 - a mark good enough for the fourth-fastest time in school history. In the very next race, Lynn led from the first split to the final touch as he established a new meet standard, finishing in a lifetime best 1:40.85. Both Tigers broke their respective records by more than a second-and-a-half.
"Colleen was very impressive tonight, especially since her 200 time is a top-5 all-time here," Hoffer said. "Dylan was very focused all day and fun to watch."
Gordon continued her fast swimming later in the meet when she bettered Liz Schoborg's 2005 meet record in the 100 fly with a time of 56.39 - another top-5 time at Mizzou. Lynn duplicated Gordon's mark of two meet records with a 46.20 effort in the 100 free, just ahead of sophomore Matt Dahlke's 47.10 - also a meet record.
The two oldest meet records fell when senior Amy Charley won the 200 IM in 2:06.74 and sophomore Lauren Cox won gold in the 100 back in 57.98. Both prior marks had stood since 1999.
Junior Travis Floyd completed the 100 back in a meet-record time of 50.83, which clocked in as his fastest since the 2004-05 season.
The meet concluded with the Gold team taking the 400 free relay in 3:31.70, the fifth meet record on the women's side. Those 11 points earned by the Gold squad narrowed the margin to 206.5-202.5 heading into the event's final race - the men's 400 free relay - meaning the Gold team needed to win the relay to tie the meet.
The Gold `A' team held a lead of less than a tenth of a second when the final legs hit the water. That's when junior Bennett Clark set out to make sure everyone knew he was one of the strongest 100 freestylers on the team. Clark, who set a meet record in the 50 free (20.85) earlier, didn't swim the 100 free, instead opting to swim the 100 fly. But as he and classmate Alex Zasadny turned at the 75-yard mark and headed home, Clark took the lead and gave the Black team the race and overall meet title in record time (3:07.86).
"I liked my chances in that last 50 and in the last 25 I knew I had a chance to win," said Clark, who's nose started bleeding lightly as he stepped onto the block.
In the diving well, sophomore Kendra Melnychuk swept the 1- and 3-meter competitions for the second-consecutive year as she contributed 18 points for the Black squad. On the men's side, junior David Boyko and freshman Greg DeStephen each won one of the events with the other finishing second.
Other top performances included sophomore Gilad Kaufman's first-place showing in the 100 fly in a time of 50.65, just .32 off his personal best from last year's Big 12 Championships, and freshman Martin Cernansky who claimed gold in the 200 IM and 100 back.
Following its Alumni Meet on Saturday at 10 a.m., the Tigers will prepare to open the regular season with the Second Annual Show-Me Showdown, next Saturday, Oct. 7. Racing begins at 11 a.m. in the MAC.