Missouri Sweeps Show-Me Showdown Team Titles

COLUMBIA, Missouri, October 7. THE Missouri men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams raced to a pair of victories in the Second Annual Show-Me Showdown at the Mizzou Aquatic Center on Saturday.

The Tiger women recorded wins in seven of the first eight events and 13 of 16 overall en route to a 394.50 score and a 41-point margin over Drury – their nearest competitor. It was Mizzou’s second-consecutive Showdown title. Washington University in St. Louis finished third with 263 points, Lindenwood was fourth with 239 and Stephens College was fifth at 126.

MU’s men also managed a convincing victory as they amassed 387 points compared to 301 for Drury. Missouri-Rolla finished third with 267, Lindenwood was fourth with 247 and Washington-St. Louis took fifth with 194.

Leading the charge for the Tigers on the women’s side was freshman Colleen Gordon who won three individual events and established meet records in the 100 and 200 Individual Medley with times of 59.55 and 2:06.88, respectively. Her other gold came in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.84.

Junior Taye Patterson shared first in the 100 backstroke with Drury’s Cara Fadel as they touched the wall in 58.47. Moments later, MU junior Travis Floyd – who swam with a broken finger – set a meet record when he took first the 100 back in 50.67. In the afternoon session, Patterson made sure she didn’t share top honors in the 50 back as she raced to a meet record of 57.12. Floyd also posted a second backstroke victory as he matched Patterson with a 23.97 to triumph in the men’s 50 back.

Freshman Martin Cernansky swept the 50 and 100 breaststroke for the Tigers, while classmate Dylan Lynn continued to impress as he posted impressive times in the 200 and 500 free and 200 IM. Lynn’s 200 free time of 1:40.58 was just off the mark set by Drury’s Yiwen Huang, who won in 1:40.50, while his 500 free time of 4:35.31 bettered the meet record but was second to Matt Hug of UMR by less than a second.

Huang also was a three-event winner, capturing the 50 fly and 100 fly in meet-record fashion, along with the aforementioned 200 free.

“I thought both of our teams raced with a lot of intensity and energy,” MU coach Brian Hoffer said. “We still have some technical aspects I would like to improve upon in the next few weeks.”

In the diving well, Mizzou posted top scores in all four diving competitions, with the highlights coming from senior Kim Massaro and freshman Greg DeStephen. Massaro’s winning score of 268.50 on the one-meter surpassed the qualifying mark for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, next March. Not to be outdone, DeStephen took gold in the three-meter with a Zone Qualifying score of 338.05.

The competitors combined to break 10 meet records.

Hoffer also expressed his pleasure with the outcome of the event, which attracted nearly 200 spectators and six teams from around the state, in spite of only being in its second year.

“The meet was a fun meet to showcase the talent in the state of Missouri,” he said.

Women’s Team Scores
1. Missouri 394.50
2. Drury 353.50
3. Washington U-St. Louis 263
4. Lindenwood 239
5. Stephens 126

Men’s Team Scores
1. Missouri 387
2. Drury 301
3. Missouri-Rolla 267
4. Lindenwood 247
5. Washington U-St. Louis 194

Meet Records
500 Free (w) Lori Halvorson, Missouri 4:59.47
500 Free (m) Matt Hug, Missouri-Rolla 4:34.66
50 Back (w) Taye Patterson, Missouri 27.12
100 Back (m) Travis Floyd, Missouri 50.67
50 Fly (w) Janelle Slattery, Drury 26.27
50 Fly (m) Yiwen Huang, Drury 22.64
100 Fly (m) Yiwen Huang, Drury 49.60
100 IM (w) Colleen Gordon, Missouri 59.55
200 IM (w) Colleen Gordon, Missouri 2:06.88
1-Meter Diving (w) Kim Massaro, Missouri 268.50

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