Feb. 18, 2015

AUBURN, Ala. - The Mizzou men sit in sixth-place (251 points) and the women sit eighth (240 points) after day two action at the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.

On the women's side, Georgia (526) sits in first, followed by Texas A&M (442), Florida (410), LSU (213), while Tennessee (311) rounds out the top five. Georgia (421) also leads the men's field, ahead of Florida (391), Auburn (379), Tennessee (329) and Alabama (311).

In the 500 free, freshman Kira Zubar took second in the C final to place 18th overall in a finals swim of 4:46.31. Her evening time, two seconds faster than her 4:48.39 in prelims, moved the freshman into fourth all-time at Mizzou in the event. Sophomore Brittany Hammond also swam the event in prelims, notching a personal best 4:52.37.

For the men, sophomore Nick Davis jumped into second all-time at MU in the 500 free with a personal best time prelims time of 4:23.20 to finish 26th. Also taking part in prelims were senior Eegan Groome (4:24.00) and sophomore Carter Griffin (personal best 4:24.07).

Mizzou had three men advance to Wednesday's finals in the 200 IM. Senior Mack Darragh led the way for the Tigers with a fifth-place finish in the consolation final, right ahead of senior Igor Kozlovskij's 14th finish. Darragh swam a 1:45.62 in finals, while Kozlovskij clocked a time of 1:46.37 in finals after a 1:46.31 in prelims. Junior Daniel Graviss won the C final with a personal best swim of 1:46.62, over a full second better than his old low and a time that now ranks him fifth all-time in Tiger history.

Freshman Sharli Brady, swimming in the 200 IM C final, won the race with a strong swim of 1:57.99. The time was a career best by a second and a half and rocketed her to rank second in Tiger history in the event.

The Tigers advanced four men to the men's 50 free finals, with sophomore Michael Chadwick and junior Matthew Margritier in the consolation final and freshman Jordy Groters and senior Sam Tierney in the C final. Chadwick placed 10th overall after taking second in the B final in a time of 19.81, while Margritier took fourth in 19.87. Groters and Tierney placed 23rd and 24th, respectively, after swims of 20.24 and 20.35. In prelims, Groters swam a personal best 20.07.

Junior Anna Patterson and freshman Rachel Hayden also represented Missouri in the 50 free finals after earning spots in the consolation (Patterson) and C (Hayden) finals. Patterson finished 15th overall with a 22.72 in finals, after a 22.52 in prelims, while Hayden placed 23rd with a finals time of 22.85.

In the diving well, the Tiger women received points from junior Lauren Reedy and freshman Alexa Beckwith on 1-meter. Reedy placed 11th in prelims with a tally of 280.80, less than 10 points out of advancing to finals. Beckwith recorded 273.35 points to take 14th-place.

In the final swimming events of the night, the Mizzou men took sixth in the 200 free relay, while the women placed eighth overall. The men's quartet of Margritier, Chadwick, Tierney and Groters clocked a time of 1:18.50, while Hayden, senior Danielle Barbiea, freshman Hannah Stevens and Patterson swam a 1:30.05.

Day three preliminary action at the SEC Championships begins Thursday at 10 a.m. CT.

Day Two Results
Men's 500 Free
26. Nick Davis (4:23.20)
28. Eegan Groome (4:24.00
29. Carter Griffin (4:24.04)
39. Andrew Phillips (4:27.55)

Women's 500 Free
18. Kira Zubar (4:46.31 finals, 4:48.39 prelims)
33. Brittany Hammond (4:52.37)

Men's 200 IM
13. Mack Darragh (1:46.08 finals, 1:45.62 prelims)
14. Igor Kozlovskij (1:46.31 finals, 1:46.37 prelims)
17. Daniel Graviss (1:46.62 finals, 1:47.68 prelims)
33. Carter Wallace (1:50.19)
35. Austin Fish (1:51.37)

Women's 200 IM
17. Sharli Brady (1:57.99 finals, 1:59.37 prelims)
32. Katharine Ross (2:00.70)
37. Abby Duncan (2:01.10)
41. Ellie Suek (2:02.39)
44. Miranda Mercke (2:03.72)
45. Danielle Spradlin (2:03.94)

Men's 50 Free
10. Michael Chadwick (19.81 finals, 19.87 prelims)
12. Matthew Margritier (19.87 finals, 19.88 prelims)
23. Jordy Groters (20.24 finals, 20.07 prelims)
24. Sam Tierney (20.35 finals, 20.12 prelims)
27. Christian Aragona (20.29)
29. Dillon Love (20.34)
32. Andrew Sansoucie (20.43)

Women's 50 Free
15. Anna Patterson (22.72 finals, 22.52 prelims)
23. Rachel Hayden (22.85 finals, 22.77 prelims)
T-27. Danielle Barbiea (22.97)
43. Victoria Trost (23.54)
46. Arianna Bernstein (23.74)
48. Emily Doucette (23.88)

Women's 1-Meter
11. Lauren Reedy (280.80)
14. Alexa Beckwith (273.35)
28. Kendra Kieser (245.70)
35. Lauren Callin (228.25)
37. Madeline McKernan (225.20)

Men's 200 Free Relay
6. Margritier, Chadwick, Tierney, Groters (1:18.50)

Women's 200 Free Relay
8. Hayden, Barbiea, Stevens, Patterson (1:30.05)