May 18, 2008
In many ways one can bill 2007-08 as the most prolific season in Mizzou women's swimming and diving history. The team climbed to its highest ever national ranking, tied the best dual season record in program history, and saw numerous records fall with each passing meet. And one certainly cannot forget the fact that the Tigers toppled archrival Kansas... twice. During this storied season, the common thread throughout was the team's ability and wontedness to work as one. This chemistry electrified the team from beginning to end, and really guided the Tigers through their tear of one of the program's most difficult schedules to date.
The women opened up 2007-08 at home on Oct. 12 versus defending Big Ten champion Indiana, who came to town after having coasted past the Tigers the previous year in Bloomington. This was a new year though, as the Tigers took 10 of the meet's 13 events to send a clear message to their nonconference foes. The women's 141-102 routing of IU came on the strength of a trio of Tiger swimmers collecting multiple wins on the day, including junior co-captain Lori Halvorson, sophomore Colleen Gordon and newcomer Lauren Lavigna, who showed no nerves in her Mizzou debut.
It was right back to the friendly confines of the Mizzou Aquatics Center the following morning as the team hosted the third annual Show-Me Showdown. Mizzou swept all four relays and tallied victories in all but two of the day's 16 overall events to collect its third consecutive Showdown crown. Gordon one-upped her performance from the night before with a hat trick of victories and junior Kendra Melnychuk got things going in the diving well with wins in 1- and 3-meter diving.
Next up for the Tigers was the annual Big 12 Relays meet, held this year in Ames, Iowa. The team tallied 10 top-three showings to capture bronze for the sixth consecutive year. In addition to the team's nine third-place finishes, the 800 free relay squad of Halvorson, Gordon, Lavigna and freshman Francie Szostak combined to take runner-up honors.
Mizzou matched up with national force Texas A&M a day later in ISU's Beyer Pool. The Tigers put up a good fight, but fell to the Aggies come meet's end. Of the team's four individual wins, two were tallied by Melnychuk as she swept both diving events.
A week later the Tigers, now ranked 20th nationally, found themselves on the road again heading to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the archrival Jayhawks. In front of a packed natatorium, Gordon captured a thrilling come-from-behind win in the 1000 free to provide her team with an early spark. A number of upperclassmen took over from there, helping lead the Tigers to a 162-138 victory in rival waters. The team's win was only its second in Lawrence in the squads' 25-meet history, but its seventh win over KU in the last eight matchups.
The Tigers carried this momentum into the following weekend's Mizzou Dual Challenge, which included a series of five duals over the course of three days. Up first for the team were Southern Illinois and defending NCAA Division II national champion Drury, both of who presented no problem for the Tigers. The women headed right back to the pool the following day, where they crushed Illinois and Missouri State to put them in position for their second consecutive Mizzou Dual Challenge sweep. And the women did just that, breaking out the brooms as they netted their first victory of the season over a ranked opponent in Virginia Tech.
After a much-deserved week off the No. 18 Tigers, now boasting the program's highest ever national ranking, made their way to West Lafayette, Ind., to compete in the Purdue Invite. In the opening day of action, Granger and Gordon led the way in the pool with a pair of golds, while Melnychuk held serve in the diving well with her victory in 3-meter diving. Down just two points to first-place Louisville entering day two, a host of upperclassmen led a Tiger tear that helped the team take a triple-digit lead into the event's final day of competition. The women would not look back in day three action, as Melnychuk and classmates Lauren Cox and Erin Yeager would rack up big wins to lead the Tigers to their first ever Purdue Invite crown by a margin of nearly 200 points.
The team headed west to Phoenix over Winter Break for their annual training trip. The Tigers mixed a rigorous training routine with a variety of enjoyable activities, including hiking, a Suns game and a night of battling on the go-kart track.
The women came off their trip to the Grand Canyon State tired but ready to roll against Missouri State and up-and-coming Arkansas. On the strength of some big swims by Szostak, Lavigna and fellow newcomer Melissa Jamerson, the Tigers bounced the Bears yet again and clinched a nail-biter over Arkansas to open up the New Year on a high note.
Hungry for more, Mizzou hit the road for the first time in 2008 to take on Iowa State. The trip treated Melnychuk well, as she stole the limelight in claiming top honors and setting a new school and pool record in 3-meter diving. The Tigers captured 11 of 14 non-exhibition events overall, including nine of the first 10, in upending the Cyclones for the 13th straight time.
It was all about the seniors as the team entered its `Senior Day' contest against nonconference Iowa the following week. Seniors Jacinto and Patterson shone on their special day, while a number of freshmen stepped up to help lead the squad to another dominant win and a proper sendoff for the team's five seniors.
The Tigers headed into their final weekend of 2008 dual action undefeated. After cruising past Drury earlier in the season, the team repeated its fortune once again thanks to an early spark by Coralie Baumann, who raced to the win in the 1000 free, and a pair of victories in the 100 and 200 breast by newcomer Morgan McCleery. It was much of the same as the women returned home a day later to take on conference foe Nebraska. Gordon, Lavigna and Melnychuk racked up multiple wins on the day to help the Tigers earn the win and equal the most single-season dual wins any team has compiled during Head Coach Brian Hoffer's 16-year tenure at Mizzou.
With a successful dual season at their sails the team's focus fell solely on the year's most highly anticipated event, the Big 12 Championships, now just two weeks off. After what had been months of preparation the Tigers would trek southward to Austin looking to avenge last year's fourth-place finish behind Kansas. The women came out of the gates with a bang, and a pair of school records in the first day of action. In the 800 free relay, Halvorson, Szostak, Gordon and Granger teamed up to knock more than 11 seconds off the school mark in taking second place in the event. Halvorson's leadoff split was also good enough for a new program record. Thanks to the quartet's showing, the team stood in a three-way tie for second with KU and Texas heading into Friday's second day of action
More record-breaking performances were to be had on day two, during which five Tiger swimmers advanced to the evening's championship finals. Following Halvorson's lead, Gordon set a school record of her own in touching in fourth in the 500 free. Melnychuk chipped in a bronze on the 1-meter board to keep the Tigers within striking distance of the Jayhawks for the third spot heading into day three.
The tables would turn on Saturday thanks to strong swims by the squad's seniors and mid-freestylers, in addition to the continued dominance of Melnychuk, who one-upped her performance from the night before by capturing silver in 3-meter diving. Gordon nabbed another fourth-place finish in the 200 free, coincidentally tying Halvorson's school record in the process. At the end of the evening the Tigers found themselves in third ahead of the Jayhawks and hoping to find themselves in the same position at the close of Saturday's final day of action.
After grabbing the lead from Kansas on Friday, Mizzou would never look back from there. This was in large part due to Melnychuk's dominant display on platform, where she claimed gold to become Mizzou's first ever conference diving champion. Jamerson nearly struck gold as well, clocking a new school record and recording runner-up honors in the 200 fly to help keep her team in third place and ahead of the Jayhawks for good.
Although a number of strong NCAA "B" cut times were established during the team's trip to Austin, conference would ultimately mark the end of the Tiger swimmers' season. The divers would continue on though and head back to nearby Houston for the Zone D Diving Championships. There, Melnychuk earned her second straight berth to NCAAs after posting a fourth-place finish in 3-meter diving. The Canadian would go on to capture silver on platform before all was said and done.
Days later, Melnychuk would make her way to Columbus, Ohio, for the NCAA Championships trying her best to overcome a severe bout with the flu. After a top-25 finish in Thursday's 1-meter diving competition, she returned the following day to finish 11th on the 3-meter board to become the program's first All-America diver in more than 25 years. Again, there was more where that came from, as Melnychuk tallied 10th on platform to become a two-time All-American and the first men or women's diver in program history to finish in the top 10 at nationals.
Melnychuk's performances on the national stage served as a fitting capstone to a stellar season in Mizzou women's swimming and diving. Given the team's storied season, even greater things will surely be expected in 2008-09. Although the bar has been raised, with the team's large pool of returners and talented group of signees, in addition to the women's drive to build on their many accomplishments this season, the only place to go from here is up.