Dec. 5, 2010
Complete Results
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou women's swimming and diving teams cruised to a decisive victory on Sunday, the final day of the Mizzou Invitational. The Tigers capped the three-day meet with a new Big 12 Conference record set by Dominique Bouchard in the 200 backstroke, as well as nine new Missouri team records.
25th-ranked Missouri racked up 1,241 points to claim the victory. Joining the Tigers on the podium were Boise State (880 points) and Nebraska (710). Drury finished fourth with 534 points, while Truman State (253) placed fifth and Colorado State (52) came in sixth.
Stephanie Rovig quickly set the tone for Mizzou on the final day, winning the 1650 free final with a time of 16:51.48. Leah Cowperthwaite finished seventh and Ashley Paterson took 13th in the event.
Dominique Bouchard made her biggest mark in her first event of the day, the 200 back. Her time of 1:52.35 was not just a new Mizzou Invitational record, a new all-time Missouri record, and an NCAA 'A' qualifying time, but also a new Big 12 Conference record. Bouchard just edged the previous time of 1:52.58, set on Feb. 28, 2009 by Texas swimmer Kathleen Hersey, to claim the honor. Her record-setting swim can be viewed by clicking the Women's Swimming section here.
Missouri swimmers also took five of the top six spots in the 200 back. After Bouchard, Lauren Lavigna placed second, and her lifetime best time of 1:53.86 also beat the previous Missouri record to put her at second all-time for the school. Francie Szostak took third, Cassie Cunningham placed fourth, and Brigette Selbert finished sixth.
The Tigers next placed three swimmers in the top eight in the 100 free. Lisa Nathanson took fourth, while Sydney Schaefer came in fifth and Caitlin Connor finished seventh.
Amanda Masters set a new meet record in the 200 breast to give Missouri its third win of the day, finishing with a time of 2:15.30. The Tigers placed four other swimmers in the top ten, with Morgan McCleery finishing third, Rachel Ripley in fourth, Emy DiBenigno in fifth and Mary Sheahen in eighth.
The Tigers didn't have to wait long for another victory or another record, as Melissa Jamerson's time of 2:15.30 in the 200 butterfly made it back-to-back wins and meet record for the team. Lexi Spivak finished seventh for Mizzou, while Anastasia Sotiropoulos placed 10th.
Diving didn't miss out on the record-setting fun. Christina Gailey's first-place finish in platform diving early Sunday set a new Mizzou Invitational record. She finished the event with 293.50 points.
Records weren't just set on Sunday. The Tigers set several meet and Missouri records earlier in the weekend as well.
In the 50 free, Lisa Nathanson broke the Missouri record she previously set in 2009 with a lifetime best performance time of 22.69, good enough for an NCAA 'B' qualifying time.
Dominique Bouchard, Lauren Lavigna, and Cassie Cunningham rewrote the history books for the 100 back completely, as their top-three scores in the event were also the top three Missouri scores of all time, besting the previous record set earlier in the year by Lavigna. All three swims were also NCAA 'B' qualifying times, as Bouchard won the event in 53.36, Lavigna placed second in 53.69, and Cunningham rounded out the group in 54.20.
Lauren Lavigna continued to excel, as she also set a Missouri record with her lifetime best performance in the 200 IM, finishing in 2:00.46, yet another NCAA 'B' qualifying time. In the 400 medley relay, the team of Bouchard, Ripley, Cunningham and Nathanson achieved both a Missouri record and an NCAA 'B' qualifying time with their first-place finish in 3:40.03.
Several new Mizzou Invitational records were set throughout the weekend as well. The 200 free relay team of Nathanson, Cunningham, Schaefer, and Szostak set a new best time for the meet, finishing in 1:31.06. The 200 medley relay team of Cunningham, Ripley, Spivak and Nathanson also set a new record, finishing in 1:40.33.
In the 100 breast, Amanda Masters' time of 1:02.36 was a new meet record, while Melissa Jamerson's time of 2:00.68 in the 200 butterfly set a new Mizzou Invitational record as well.
On the diving block, new records were set in all three events, capped by Christina Gailey's school record Sunday in platform diving. Jordan Morcom set a new meet record with a 3 meter score of 342.20, while Loren Figueroa added to the record books with a 321.45 score in 1 meter diving.
Overall, the Tigers had a stellar weekend, setting 5 new team records, with 8 swims under the previous team records. They set 15 new meet records and finished with 75 lifetime best performances, making up 85% of the swims this weekend. 41 swimmers finished in the Mizzou all-time top ten in their events, and four swims were good enough to qualify for the 2011 NCAA National Championships in Austin, TX.
Following this weekend's home victory, the Tigers will continue their season Jan. 15, when they take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis. For updates on Mizzou Swimming & Diving, please visit MUTigers.com.