University of Missouri
Iowa State
Tigers Win Big on Senior Day
1/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Jan. 24, 2009
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri women's swimming and diving team (3-5, 2-1 Big 12) scored their second consecutive dual victory as they dominated the Cyclones of Iowa State on Senior Day by a score of 178-117. Prior to the meet, the Tigers held a ceremony in honor of the team's 11 seniors for all of their hard work and dedication to the program.
The Tigers jumped on the Cyclones early and often, beginning with the 200 medley relay. Missouri was able to snag the early lead after they finished first and third in the race, with the foursome of sophomore Lauren Lavigna, sophomore Morgan McCleery, junior Colleen Gordon and freshman Lisa Nathanson touching first at 1:45.67.
Missouri rallied off four straight victories during the first-half of the dual.
Freshman Stephanie Rovig scored her first career collegiate victory after posting the eighth-fastest 200 free ever at Missouri, touching at 1:51.18. Coming in second in the race was Nathanson at 1:53.40, while senior Jill Granger took fourth with a time of 1:54.71.
Freestyle specialist Francie Szostak took the pool for the 100 back, and touch first for the win. Her time of 57.16 is the tenth-best ever in Tiger history. Senior Lauren Cox posted a second-place finish, coming in just behind Szostak at 57.89. Freshman Amber Molina scored points with her fourth-place finish at 59.26.
McCleery made it three in a row when she secured the win in the 100 breast. The second-fastest 100 breaststroker at Mizzou claimed gold in a time of 1:04.23
In the 200 fly, the Tigers made it four in a row after they posted a 1-2-3-4 finish. Sophomore Melissa Jamerson won her second event of the year, finishing at 2:04.28. Gordon came in second at 2:04.87, while senior Coralie Baumann grabbed third with a time of 2:06.56. Rounding out the top four was sophomore Anastasia Sotiropoulos with her time of 2:07.19.
To start the second half of the meet, the Tigers rallied off four more consecutive victories, starting with the 100 free. Nathanson and Szostak posted a 1-2 finish in the race, with Nathanson's time of 51.44 slightly edging out Szostak's 51.52.
Senior Lori Halvorson took gold in the 200 back, dominating the competition with a time of 2:04.22. Molina came in second at 2:07.31, beating out the third-place finisher by just .02.
Following the 200 back, senior Erin Yeager closed out her last home meet with her first victory on the year. The third-best 200 backstroker in school history registered a time of 2:19.89 for the win.
In the 500 free, Missouri got one more 1-2 finish, this time from Granger and Baumann as they swam for the last time in home dual action. Granger raced in 5:03.78 for the victory, with Baumann coming in right after her at 5:04.34.
On the springboards, the Tiger Tandem of senior Kendra Melnychuk and freshman Jordan Morcom split first and second-place finishes. Morcom took gold on the 1-meter with a score of 280.40 and took second on the 3-meter with a 303.45 finish. Melnychuk score of 313.05 put her in first on the 3-meter, while a 265.13 score on the 1-meter secured second place. Sophomore Abby Zepeda took fourth in both events. Her score of 270.52 on the 3-meter improved on her personal best and moved her up to ninth all-time in the event.
The Tigers took exhibitions for the last two events, the 200 IM and 400 free relay.
Both the women and the men's teams will be back in the pool next Saturday, as the teams will travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes. The meet is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
