Jan. 12, 2008
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The 19th-ranked Missouri men's swimming and diving team (6-1, 1-0 Big 12) started the second half of its season strong with a 166.5-133.5 victory over in-state rival Missouri State on Saturday. Due to timing system errors it took several days for an accurate final score to be tabulated.
"The men had a solid a day in the pool," said Missouri Head Coach Brian Hoffer. "They're in the middle of a tough training cycle right now and it's nice to get a win over a top-30 Missouri State squad to show for their efforts. We're looking to carry our depth and the momentum we gained today into the rest of the season and into conference."
A number of individuals stepped up for the Tigers in the win, including a host of freshmen and sophomores. A pair of freshman got things going for the Tigers with a tight 1-2 finish in the 1000 free. Omaha, Neb., native Spenser Lauver earned the win in a time of 9:34.78 with Cameron Sellers coming in just one-hundredth of a second behind to finish second.
Sellers would not settle for another second-place showing though in the 500 free. The Kansan led a 1-2-3 Tiger finish with his time of 4:39.91. Junior Brad Hubbard touched in a time of 4:42.11 to edge Lauver (4:42.50) for the runner-up spot.
Continuing the Tigers' winning ways was sophomore standout Martin Cernansky. The Austrian dominated Saturday's breaststroke events, clocking a 57.27 to take the top spot in the 100 breast and a 2:04.36 for the win in the 200 portion of the event. Junior Ted Harris rounded out the top-three in both races.
Winning was also the trend for the Tigers in the diving well. Sophomore Greg DeStephen dove to victory on both the 1- and 3-meter boards, recording a 302.50 for the win on the 1-meter board and a 344.05 to take top honors in 3-meter diving. Columbia, Mo., native Dante Jones claimed second on both boards.
The Tigers head to Pittsburgh, Pa., this upcoming week to take on Pittsburgh, Maryland, Penn State and Villanova. Friday's action gets underway at 5 p.m. ET with Saturday's events set to begin at 11 a.m. ET.