Feb. 25, 2008
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The 21st-ranked Missouri men's swimming and diving team (11-2, 1-0 Big 12) heads to Austin, Texas, this week for the Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championships. Day one action is set to get underway Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. with the prelims of the men's 1-meter diving competition. Finals on the 1-meter board, in addition to the 200 medley and 800 free relay finals, take place that evening. Fans unable to catch the action in the Longhorns' Jamail Texas Swimming Center can view live results on mutigers.com.
Last Time Around
After standing in second place following day one action at last year's conference meet, the Tigers closed out the meet in third place. In their hard-fought effort the team tallied its second-highest conference championship score of 735 points, less than 100 points back of Texas A&M's 828 points.
Ready for a Change
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is not the only one ready for a change around here. The Tiger men have never finished higher than third at Big 12s in the 11-year history of the meet. The team is ready to put an end to this streak and seems poised to do so after rolling rival Texas A&M by a score of 132-111 on neutral territory (Ames, Iowa) earlier this season. The Tigers did not race the Longhorns in 2007-08.
In the Rankings
The No. 21 Tigers head into Austin one spot behind the Aggies (2-6, 0-2 Big 12) in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) top-25 poll. The Longhorns (8-1, 1-0) fell to second in the nation after then-No. 2 (and current top-ranked) Arizona knocked them off at the beginning of the month.
Best Year Ever
The men's 11-2 dual season record is the best in program history, and easily the best during the 16-year "Hoffer Era." The Tigers had never reached double-digit wins under Head Coach Brian Hoffer until this year, the closest instance coming during the seven-win 1995-96 campaign. The team's record gives Hoffer an 83-69 (.546 winning percentage) overall record at Mizzou and the program's fourth-consecutive winning season.
Bring It On
The Tigers brought on some serious competition in 2007-08, with their only two losses coming against ranked opponents. The team opened up the season with a tough loss to now-No. 6 Indiana (141-102), but returned the next weekend to take down now-No. 22 Texas A&M. The team fell to 16th-ranked Penn State, 191-159, on the road in Pittsburgh, Pa., to open second semester action. The Tigers raced No. 12 Purdue and 23rd-ranked Louisville at November's Boilermaker Invite, where they led the first two days and ultimately brought home a runner-up finish. They also beat Virginia Tech and Missouri State (twice), both of whom received votes in the latest CSCAA poll, in dual matchups this season.
Ups and Downs
The program's all-time top-10 has seen multiple ups and downs this season, and 12 to be exact. Thus, 12 swimmers and divers have moved into or up in the all-time standings. Although no school records have been broken in 2007-08, a number have been threatened. Junior Bryan Difford moved into second on the all-time 200 IM list after racing an impressive 1:49.70 at the Purdue Invite. Classmates Matt Dahlke, Brad Hubbard, Gilad Kaufman and sophomore Dylan Lynn also moved into second all-time in the 800 free relay after combining for a winning time of 6:39.97 in West Lafayette. In the diving well, freshman Dante Jones is just seven-hundredths of a point shy of Diving Coach Jamie Sweeney's second-place all-time score of 335.25.
Making the Cut
A trio of Tigers have made NCAA "B" cut times this season and more could easily be raced in Austin this week. These are the times the NCAA will consider when selecting swimmers to compete at next month's NCAA Championships. Kaufman raced a 20.75 in the 50 free and a 48.08 in the 100 fly to make the cut at the Missouri Grand Prix. Redshirt freshman Cameron Sellers also touched in a "B" cut time of 4:27.01 in the 500 free at the Grand Prix. Sophomore Martin Cernansky has had his times locked in for several months now. The Austrian clocked a 54.74 in the 100 breast and a 1:58.50 in the 200 portion of the event at November's Alabama Classic.
A `Not So Grumpy' Greg
Sophomore Greg DeStephen heads into the conference meet boasting quite the resume. The Columbus, Ohio, native and 2007 NCAA participant has not finished lower than third in dual or invitational action this season. DeStephen has earned 17 wins over the course of 2007-08, 11 of which have come in the New Year. The Tiger has been stronger on the 3-meter board this season, and currently stands just 8 points off school-record holder Evan Watters' score of 385.87.
Martin Is the CerMANsky
DeStephen's classmate, Martin Cernansky, has racked up 23 wins on the season, all of which came in breaststroke and IM events. He currently ranks second in both the 100 (54.74) and 200 breast (1:58.50) among the conference competition.