University of Missouri
Texas A&M
Mizzou Knocks Off Conference Rival Texas A&M
10/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Swimming & Diving
Oct. 18, 2007
AMES, Iowa - The Missouri Men's Swimming and Diving team claimed its first win on the young season Thursday against conference foe Texas A&M by a score of 132-111. The Tigers tallied wins in several key events down the stretch to solidify the win.
"It was nice to come back and beat the Aggies after last year's narrow loss," said Tiger Head Coach Brian Hoffer. "It was a great battle in what is always a fun Big 12 matchup. I appreciated the great crowd on hand tonight to watch the team swim. Our women came to cheer us on and added a lot of energy to the mix."
The first half of Thursday's events featured a back-and-forth battle between the Tigers and rival Aggies. Mizzou received its first spark of the evening from freshman Spenser Lauver, who raced to his first collegiate win in the 1000 free in a time of 9:41.34. Tiger sophomore Dylan Lynn took runner-up honors in a time of 9:46.62. Redshirt sophomore and Ames native Bobby Sundvold touched in fourth in a time of 9:49.38.
The next race on the docket was the 200 free. Mizzou junior Matt Dahlke posted a solid time of 1:41.96 but was narrowly edged coming down the final stretch. Redshirt freshman Cameron Sellers produced a third-place showing in a time of 1:42.54.
The top two spots in the 50 free went to the Aggies, but the Tigers went 3-4-5 to keep the night's contest close. Freshman Jordan Hawley finished in third in a time of 21.49 with junior Gilad Kaufman just behind in a time of 21.53. Another Ames native, sophomore Joe Wiedemeier, nabbed fifth place in the event in a time of 21.75.
The Tigers then roared back and put their versatility on display in the 200 IM. Sophomore Martin Cernansky continued his strong start to the season and claimed the race in a winning time of 1:54.32. Junior Bryan Difford took third in a time of 1:55.52 with classmate Ted Harris capturing fifth-place honors in a time of 1:57.32.
Mizzou sophomore Greg DeStephen then carried his team's momentum into the diving well, winning the 1-meter competition with a score of 284.92.
In the following 200 fly race, Kaufman swam to a runner-up finish in a time of 1:54.92 with senior Thomas Baumann claiming the third spot in a time of 1:57.29.
The turning point of the meet came in the 200 back when two Tigers finished atop the event's leaderboard. Junior co-captain Jake Hoffmann won the race in a time of 1:52.20 with fellow captain Travis Floyd touching in second in a time of 1:53.30.
The Aggies proved no match for the Tigers in the 500 free, as Mizzou charged to a 1-2-3 finish in the event. Lynn and Sellers swapped places this time with Lynn earning the win in a time of 4:41.20 and Sellers just behind in a time of 4:41.56. Junior Brad Hubbard rounded out the top three after clocking a time of 4:42.62.
DeStephen again rode the Tiger wave as the men headed into the 3-meter diving competition. The sophomore won the board for his second win on the night and his third of the season.
Another multiple-winner on the night for the Tigers was Cernansky, who paced the field in the 200 breast to close out the night's individual events on a high note for his team.
The Tigers return to the pool tomorrow at 9 a.m. for the first session of the Big 12 Relays with the second session set to kick off at 1 p.m. Live results of the meet will be available on the Iowa State University Athletics website: www.cyclones.com.
Players Mentioned
