University of Missouri
Nebraska
Tigers Shuck Cornhuskers, 175.5-124.5
2/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Feb. 7, 2009
LINCOLN, Neb. - The Missouri Tigers women's swimming and diving team ended their dual season with a big 175.5-124.5 win over conference foe Nebraska. The win marks the fourth-straight victory for the Tigers as they evened up their dual record to 5-5 on the season, while improving to 3-1 in Big 12 competition.
Missouri's day started off with a victory from the team's 400 medley relay "A" squad. The Tiger foursome of sophomore Lauren Lavigna, sophomore Morgan McCleery, junior Molly Bollen and senior Lori Halvorson earned the victory with their time of 3:51.65.
The Tigers had just two swimmers competing in the 1000 free, but that was enough to earn the team a 1-2 finish, along with some big-time early points. Junior Colleen Gordon outraced freshman teammate Stephanie Rovig for the win, coming in at 10:09.72. Rovig touched shortly after Gordon, coming in at 10:15.06.
Another Tiger 1-2 finish came in the following event when Missouri freshman Lisa Nathanson and sophomore Lauren Lavigna claimed the top two spots in the 200 free. Nathanson's time of 1:53.28 barely edged out Lavigna's 1:53.59, giving Nathanson her fifth victory of the year and fourth in as many weeks.
The team's third-straight 1-2 finish came in the 100 back, with senior Lauren Cox taking gold for the first time this season. Cox's time of 58.62 barely edged out Halvorson's 58.86 runner-up time.
Though Nebraska closed the gap going into the midway point, the Tigers came out firing following the break, rallying off five consecutive victories to expand on their lead, while ultimately pulling away from the Huskers for good.
Halvorson followed up her runner-up finish in the 100 back with a victory in the 200 back, swimming in 2:05.40.
Senior Erin Yeager and McCleery went 1-2 in the 200 breast. Yeager touched in 2:20.38 for her third 200 breast victory in the past three meets, while McCleery followed her at 2:22.72.
In the 500 free, sophomore Francie Szostak took the gold with a time of 4:58.04, the only racer under the five-minute mark. Senior Carly Sullivan came in third in her last collegiate dual, racing in 5:02.04.
Gordon followed that by notching her second win of the day, swimming the 100 fly in 57.21. The victory her eighth on the season.
The 400 IM brought one final 1-2 finish for Missouri, with senior Jill Granger taking first place at 4:30.30. Fellow senior Coralie Baumann followed right behind her with a runner-up time of 4:31.11.
In the diving well, Tiger senior Kendra Melnychuk just barely missed out on first-place in the 3-meter. Melnychuk scored big on her final dive, but ultimately fell just short. Her score of 313.43 finished just behind Nebraska's Courtney Jolly, who scored 313.57. Freshman Jordan Morcom took third with a score of 308.85.
In the 1-meter, Melnychuk and Morcom showed why they are two of the best in the Big 12, rising to the top of the pack while finishing 1-2 for the 12th time this season. Melnychuk bounced back from her close finish in the 3-meter to take gold in the 1-meter, scoring 295.50, while Morcom came in right after her with a 293.10.
Players Mentioned
