Nov. 16, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The No. 20 Missouri men's swimming and diving team (5-1, 1-0 Big 12) stands in first place after day one action at the Purdue Invitational. The Tigers totaled 203 points on the day, putting them more than thirty points ahead of their nearest competitor.
"This was a great way to open the weekend," said Tiger Head Coach Brian Hoffer. "The men swam well both individually and collectively as a team. Bryan Difford, in particular, came up big for us. It will be fun to see what the men are capable of doing the rest of the weekend."
Perhaps the most impressive showing of the day belonged to junior Byron Difford in the 200 IM. The South African clocked a winning time of 1:49.70 in what classmate and team co-captain Jake Hoffmann described as a "breakthrough swim." Difford bettered his personal best in the event, in which he stands second all-time at Mizzou. Sophomore Martin Cernansky took sixth in the 200 IM in a time of 1:53.27 with junior Ted Harris finishing just behind in seventh (1:53.47).
Another Friday personal best was delivered by freshman Jordan Hawley. The Plano, Texas, native raced to a personal best time of 20.74 in the prelims of the 50 free then returned to tally a sixth-place finish in the evening's finals (20.79).
Hawley could also be seen in relay action for the Tigers. The freshman combined with sophomore Dylan Lynn, junior Gilad Kaufman and sophomore Joe Wiedemeier to record a third-place finish in the 200 free relay (1:23.17).
In other relay action, Lynn, senior Travis Floyd, sophomore Martin Cernansky and junior Matt Dahlke combined for a fourth-place finish in the 400 medley relay in a time of 3:22.03.
Helping the swimmers' cause was the Tiger diving squad. Sophomore Greg DeStephen dove to a third-place score of 299.70 on the 1-meter board with freshman Dante Jones just behind in fourth-place (295.05). Sophomore Ryan Meeker chipped in an eighth-place score of 209.70.
The men return to the pool Saturday for day two action in West Lafayette, Ind. Prelims are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with finals kicking off at 6 p.m.
SATURDAY'S ORDER OF EVENTS
10 a.m. (Prelims)
400 IM
100 Fly
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
(1 p.m.)
Men - 3-meter diving
Women - 1-meter diving
6 p.m. (Finals)
200 Medley Relay
400 IM
100 Fly
200 Free
100 Breast
100 Back
Men - 3 meter diving
Women - 1 meter diving
800 Free Relay