Women Flexing Muscles at Purdue Invite
11/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 17, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 18th-ranked University of Missouri women's swimming and diving team (7-1, 1-1 Big 12) took the pool by storm in day two action at the Purdue Invitational, Saturday. The Tigers have scored 520 overall points over the meet's first two days, giving them a triple-digit lead heading into Sunday's final day of action.
"I'm happy with the intensity the women have showed this weekend," said Missouri Head Coach Brian Hoffer. "They are racing hard and have worked together to build a lead. We hope to bring this same intensity to the pool tomorrow to wrap things up."
The women got the evening's finals started with an exciting win in the 200 medley relay. Senior Taye Patterson, junior Kayla Bowcutt, senior Arica Jacinto and junior Lori Halvorson combined for the win in a time of 1:43.14, which is the second fastest mark in school history.
Riding the wave of their teammates' relay win were junior Jill Granger and sophomore Colleen Gordon in the 400 IM. Granger raced to runner-up honors in a time of 4:21.03 with Gordon coming in third in a time of 4:22.23. Both times qualify as NCAA "B" cuts.
Racing to an NCAA "B" cut of her own was junior co-captain Halvorson. The Tulsa, Okla. native clocked a 1:48.91 to earn the cut and an impressive win in the 200 free. Halvorson's time was just eight-hundredths of a second off of her school record time. Rounding out the race's top-five was freshman Francie Szostak, who touched in a time of 1:52.20.
The following 100 breast featured three Tigers in the final eight. Junior Kayla Bowcutt posted a runner-up finish in the event, but did so in a personal best time of 1:04.03. Bowcutt's time is just two-hundredths of a second shy of the all-time top-five at Mizzou. Classmate Erin Yeager also raced to a top-five finish, taking fourth in a time of 1:04.38. Senior Jill Bastien recorded a seventh-place finish in a time of 1:05.44.
Senior Taye Patterson had another huge day in the pool on Saturday. The Quebecan recorded an NCAA "B" cut time of 55.59 in the morning's 100 back prelims and returned to the pool for a runner-up finish in the final heat (55.61). Patterson's time is good enough for third all-time in program history. Also moving up in the MU all-time 100 back standings was junior Lauren Cox. The Phoenix, Arizona, native advanced from ninth to seventh on the all-time list with her fourth-place showing (56.94). Freshman Lauren Lavigna rounded out the top-five (57.59).
The women closed the day with another all-time top-three relay finish. Halvorson, Szostak, Gordon and Granger combined for the win in the 800 free in a time of 7:24.40. The quartet's time is the third best in Mizzou history.
Junior Kendra Melnychuk continued to impress in the diving well. The Canadian recorded a third-place score of 251.50 on the 1-meter board and looks to wrap up the weekend with what is arguably her strongest event, 10-meter platform diving.
The Tigers head back to the Boilermakers' Holloway Pool for the third and final time of the weekend on Sunday. Prelims are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EST with finals set for 4 p.m. Fans can stay up to date with all the latest goings-on in West Lafayette, Ind., with live results available at purduesports.com.
SUNDAY'S ORDER OF EVENTS
10 a.m. (Prelims)
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
1650 Free
(1 p.m.)
Men's and Women's Platform Diving
4 p.m. (Finals)
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
Men's and Women's Platform Diving
400 Free Relay
Players Mentioned
