Kovac, 400 Medley Relay Earn Top Seven Finishes at NCAA Championships

Thursday, March 25

Greensboro, N.C.

9 a.m. CT / 5 p.m. CT

University of Missouri

NCAA Championships

Kovac, 400 Medley Relay Earn Top Seven Finishes at NCAA Championships

3/25/2021 8:45:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Mizzou men's swimming and diving team had a pair of seventh-place finishes and another top 15 placement on Thursday to highlight day two action at the 2021 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Greensboro, N.C.

Junior Danny Kovac (Fort Collins, Colo.) claimed All-America first team accolades after taking seventh in the in the 200 IM, which matched the Tigers' finish 400 medley relay. In the diving well, sophomore Carlo Lopez (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) placed 15th on 1-meter to earn All-America honorable mention honors.

After two days of competition, Mizzou sits 12th in the team standings with 42 points.

KEY PERFORMANCES

After a prelims time of 1:42.21 in the 200 IM, Kovac posted a finals time of 1:44.11 in the championship final to take seventh overall in the race for All-America first team accolades. It marked the first time Kovac claimed individual All-America honors in his Tiger career, as he garnered four accolades as part of Mizzou relay teams at the 2019 Championships as a freshman.

In his NCAA Championships debut, Lopez claimed All-America honorable mention accolades on 1-meter. The sophomore scored 300.95 points in the consolation final to place 15th overall after a preliminary round of 302.65.

Mizzou's 400 medley relay squad of junior Jack Dahlgren (Victoria, Minn.), sophomore Ben Patton (Wichita, Kan.), Kovac and junior Kyle Leach (Colorado Springs, Colo.) claimed All-America first team honors after taking seventh in a time of 3:04.34. The time was good enough for fourth all-time at Mizzou in the event, while Dahlgren's leadoff 100 back split of 46.02 was a personal best and moved the junior into third on Mizzou's all-time list.

During prelims action, Patton improved 11 spots from his seed to take 21st overall in the 200 IM with a swim of 1:44.22.

QUOTABLES

Mizzou head coach Andrew Grevers
"We really made all of our opportunities count this morning. Finals got kicked off with Carlo getting 15^th, it was amazing to get those diving points. We started with a solid first relay and Danny had a good 200 IM but both races had opportunities for improvement. Then we put it all together for the 400 medley relay, it was great to end the session on a high note. Our team had great attitude and effort today, along with really good cheering from teammates in the stands."

UP NEXT

Day three action at the 2021 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships continue on Friday, March 26 with swimming prelims at 9 a.m. CT, diving prelims at 11:15 a.m. CT and finals at 5 p.m. CT.