2008-09 Swim & Dive: Women's Preview
10/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 8, 2008
Both the men and women will open up their season next Saturday, October 18, with the Show-Me Showdown at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
Coming off of what could be considered the most prolific season in the history of the Missouri women's swimming and diving program, the Tigers return to the pool in 2008-09 looking to build on that success as they continue to climb up the rankings and into the national spotlight.
"We're looking at a very deep women's team this year," Head Coach Brian Hoffer said. "We have to put everything together though and work well as a unit. I think that we'll be very good in a championship-style format. We're fortunate enough to have a lot people who can step in anywhere and help us out."
The women's captains for the upcoming year are seniors Lori Halvorson, Kendra Melnychuk and Lauren Cox.
SPRINT FREE
Seniors Halvorson and Cox are the two main sprinters for the Tigers this year. Halvorson, a 2008 Olympic Trials qualifier, and Cox, who holds the 10th-best 50 free time ever at Mizzou, look to use their leadership and experience to help guide incoming freshman Lisa Nathanson. Nathanson is also an Olympic Trials qualifier, and will help fill the sprinters' slot that recent graduate Taye Patterson occupied last season.
Hoffer: "We're really looking for Lauren Cox to be the main person, but we're also really relying on Lisa Nathanson. We need her to grow up quickly in the Big 12, which we think she can definitely do."
MID-FREE
The Tigers can expect big contributions from every class in the mid-free events this year. Halvorson and junior Colleen Gordon, co-school record holders in the 200 free, will lead the Tigers in the event. Sophomore Francie Szostak, who holds the third-fastest 500 free time at Mizzou, is expected to improve on her impressive freshman campaign, while coaches look for freshman Stephanie Rovig to make a big splash in her first collegiate season.
Hoffer: "This event is our biggest strength coming into the season. We've improved greatly since last year, and this is possibly one of our strongest events in the history of our program."
DISTANCE FREE
Senior Jill Granger, a 2008 Olympic Trials qualifier and school record holder in the 1000 and 1650 free events, leads the way for the Tigers in the distance free. Gordon, who holds the second fastest times at Mizzou in the 1000 and 1650 free, will join Granger in the pool for the distance events. Gordon earned a runner-up finish in the 2008 USA Open Water National Championships in May, clocking a time of 1:03:46.1 in the 5K competition. Senior Carly Sullivan, who also is near the top of the all-time 1000 and 1650 free lists, makes the Tigers tough to beat in this event.
Hoffer: "Distance free is one of the events we'll continue to be very strong in. We didn't bring anyone new in for this event, because we are so tough with Jill, Colleen, and Carly. We've also got Coralie [Baumann] and Anastasia [Sotiropoulos], who could fill in and be very successful for us."
As with most of the women's team, the fly is loaded with talent and depth. Gordon, Granger and sophomore Melissa Jamerson all swam themselves into the Mizzou record books last year, with Jamerson breaking the school record in the 200 fly as a freshman. Gordon is currently third all-time in the 100 fly, while Granger is fifth all-time in the 200 fly.
Hoffer: "We have very good depth here, but we're going to need people to step up with Arica [Jacinto] gone. Gordon can really help us in the 100, where a lot of help is needed. We're looking for Melissa to improve on her 100 and Molly Bollen needs to step up for us. She's very capable of being a big factor for us this year."
BREAST
Kayla Bowcutt and Erin Yeager, both seniors, return as the top competitors on the team in the breaststroke. Both improved on their career bests last year as they climbed their way up the record books. The coaching staff is expecting freshman Emy DiBenigno to come in and have an impact right away, as she attempts to replace Jill Bastien, who graduated.
Hoffer: "This is our second deepest event this year, behind the mid-free. We're looking at Yeager and Bowcutt to be the leaders for our squad in the breast this year. We also have Mary Sheahen, Aimee Hukill and Morgan McCleery who will help us out a lot. We have some very talented freshman coming in that'll definitely be able to help us. Emy will give us some great speed and Kayla Durnil really came on in the 200 this summer. Kayla ended up posting an Olympic Trials qualifying time after the meet was over. Those two will help us out quite a bit."
BACK
In the backstroke, Lavigna is expected to lead what will be a relatively young duo of swimmers this year. In Lavigna's inaugural collegiate season, she quickly made herself known in the event, touching in with the sixth-fastest time ever in the 100 back and the third-quickest time in the 200 back in school history. Joining Lavigna in the event will be Lauren Cox, who is eighth all-time in the 100 back and incoming freshman Amber Molina. Molina will step in and take over for recently-graduated Taye Patterson, whose time of 55.59 in the 100 back is the third-fastest in the history of the program.
Hoffer: "We really need Lavigna to step up and help fill in for Taye. Lauren proved last year that she could handle the pressure, now it is time for her to turn it on. We aren't as deep here as we'd like to be, but if the girls can step up like we think they can, we'll be in good shape."
IM
The IM events will be highlighted by the trio of Halvorson, Granger and Gordon in what is arguably the team's most experienced and most talented event. Halvorson is the school-record holder in the 200 IM and holds the seventh-best time in the 400 IM, while Granger holds the school-record in the 400 IM, and Gordon possesses the third-fastest times in both the 200 and 400 IM events.
Hoffer: "We're very fortunate in the IM. If we need to go to the 200, we can go to Lori [Halvorson] or incoming freshman Emy DiBenigno. If we need to go to the 400, we can look to Jill [Granger]. Coralie has been solid for us in this event and we're expecting [Kayla] Durnil to step up for us as well."
DIVING
Returning to the diving well for her final season as a Missouri Tiger will be Kendra Melnychuk. Fresh off her junior campaign, where she became the first conference diving champion in program history, and earned two All-America honors at the NCAA Championships, Melnychuk has become a nationally-recognized name in the sport. As she looks to improve during her senior year, she will be joined on the boards by sophomores Jenny Franzone and Abby Zepeda, who dove their way into the school record books in their opening seasons.
Diving Coach James Sweeney: "This should be a very strong season for us. We will have two-time All-American Kendra Melnychuk returning for her senior year along with the strongest freshman class we have ever had. We have a team this year that I feel can compete with any other squad in the country. This season is going to be a lot of fun."
The men's and women's teams will open up their season at home next Saturday, October 18, with the Show-Me Showdown.
