Nov. 2, 2007
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri men's swimming and diving team (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) opened Friday's first day of Mizzou Dual Challenge action with convincing wins over Southern Illinois and three-time defending NCAA Division II champion Drury. In double dual action, the Tigers knocked off the Salukis by a score of 96-52, while triumphing over the Panthers of Drury by a count of 90-57.
"The guys battled really well today and brought a lot of intensity," said Missouri Head Coach Brian Hoffer. "I'm pleased with the way they worked together as a team to get a victory over two very good programs."
The men opened the night with a 1-2-4 finish in the 200 free. Junior Matt Dahlke raced to the win in a time of 1:41.01 and just three-hundredths of a second ahead of redshirt freshman Cameron Sellers (1:41.04), who finished in second. Junior Brad Hubbard claimed the fourth spot in a time of 1:43.16.
Sophomore Martin Cernansky followed Dahlke's lead in the proceeding 200 IM. The Austrian raced to victory in a time of 1:52.85 for his second win of the season in the event.
The next event, the 100 back, was a big one for the Tigers. Senior co-captain Travis Floyd claimed the top spot in a time of 50.16 to lead a Tiger 1-3-4-5 finish. Fellow captains senior Joe Wilson (51.51) and junior Jake Hoffmann (52.50) took third and fourth, respectively.
Cernansky jumped in the pool in the 100 breast with another win on his mind. The sophomore rose to the challenge, clocking a 56.87 for the win. Junior Ted Harris took runner-up honors in a time of 58.86 with senior Brandon Lee just behind in a time of 59.06.
Two more Tigers got on the board in the 100 fly. Junior Gilad Kaufman earned runner-up honors in a time of 50.79 followed by fellow junior and St. Louis native Eric Smith in third (51.57).
After claiming the win in the 200 free to get the evening started for the Tigers, Dahlke tallied a few more points for the Tigers with his second-place finish in the 100 portion of the event (46.13).
The men's 1-meter diving competition will take place tomorrow and those scores will then be combined with day one's scores.
The Tigers return to the pool Saturday morning when they face in-state rival Missouri State. Competition is set to begin at 9 a.m. in the Mizzou Aquatics Center.