Drury vs. Missouri

COLUMBIA, Missouri, February 4. IN their final home meet of the season, the Mizzou men's and women's swimming and diving teams honored their senior members in the best way possible–a dominating victory over Drury University. The Missouri women defeated the Panthers 191.00 – 109.00, while the men claimed a 173.00 – 127.00 victory over Drury.

The day began with a heartfelt tribute to the seniors for their contributions to the program. For thirteen seniors, today's meet was their last home meet, and they were honored with a sendoff by the Mizzou pep band, roses and thanks from their coaches, and cheers from their teammates.

Both Missouri's men and women got off to a hot start, as the 400 medley women's relay team cruised to a 1-2-3 sweep and the men's took both the first and third spots. The women's B relay team of Dominique Bouchard, Amanda Masters, Casie Cunningham, and Lisa Nathanson placed first (3:42.53); the A team of Lauren Lavigna, Morgan McCleery, Melissa Jamerson and Francie Szostak placed second (3:43.04); and the C team of Nathalia Mello, Rachel Ripley, Lexi Spivak and Sydney Schaefer placed third (3:55.03).

The men's A relay team of Roko Simunic, Mark Conroy, Anders Melin and Jordan Hawley finished first in 3:16.33, while the B squad of Adam Abernathy, Jowan Qupty, Scott Martin and Jeff Hendricks finished third in 3:22.09.

In the 1000 free, Stephanie Rovig claimed the top spot for the women with a 10:13.91 finish, while Leah Cowperthwaite finished third in 10:28.47. Spenser Lauver finished in second for the men, with a 9:26.62 time.

In the next event, the 200 free, senior Francie Szostak claimed her first victory of the day with a time of 1:48.66, while Brigette Selbert placed third in 1:51.28. The men won two awards as well, as Ethan Rose placed second (1:41.18) and Ryan Sellers placed third (1:41.45).

The 100 back was particularly good to the Tigers, as both the women and men swept the podium. Cassie Cunningham placed first for the women (54.45), while Dominique Bouchard finished second (55.75) and Andrea Marko placed third (57.39). In the men's event, senior Roko Simunic had his first victory of the day (49.59), John Higgins placed second (50.18) and Jonathon Benson placed third (50.80).

The 1-2-3 sweeps weren't over yet, however. In another dominating performance by Mizzou, the men and women swept the 100 breast as well. For the women, senior Morgan McCleery claimed her first victory of the day in 1:02.59, Emy DiBenigno finished second in 1:03.56, and Rachel Ripley placed third in 1:05.27. Joe Hladik finished in first place for the men (56.15), Mark Conroy took second (56.16), and Jowan Qupty placed third (56.98).

In the 200 fly, senior Melissa Jamerson placed first in 2:01.46, while Anastasia Sotiropoulos took second in 2:02.56. For the men, Mark Waugh took second in 1:52.09, while Colin Livasy took third in 1:25.30.

Lisa Nathanson claimed the victory in the 50 free with a time of 23.48, and Sydney Schaefer placed second in 23.97. Missouri's two senior competitors for the men claimed the two top spots, as Jordan Hawley placed first in 20.44 and Anders Melin took second in 20.88.

In the diving pool, Dallas Becerra took first place in the 1 meter dive with a final score of 283.72, while Mitch Harris placed second with 248.03. Becerra claimed the top spot again in the 3 meter dive, with 301.13 points. Sharon Finn placed first in the 1 meter dive, with a finals score of 275.25.

Missouri claimed the top spot in both the men's and women's 100 free, as Cassie Cunningham finished first in 50.94 and Jordan Hawley took first in 44.95. For the women, Stephanie Rovig placed second in 51.00 and Sydney Schaefer took third in 51.88, while Roko Simunic finished in third place for the men with a time of 46.07.

In the 200 back, Lauren Lavigna placed first for the women in 2:01.97. John Higgins took first for the men in 1:48.68, and Ryan Sellers placed second in 1:50.56.

In the men's 200 back, John Higgins placed first with a time of 1:48.68, while Ryan Sellers took the second place spot with a time of 1:50.56.

The women completed another sweep in the 200 breast, as Amanda Masters placed first in 2:15.20, Morgan McCleery took second in 2:17.04, and Emy DiBenigno placed third in 2:18.31. For the men, Jowan Qupty claimed second place in 2:01.98, while Michael Lopresti took the third place spot in 2:05.42.

In yet another 1-2-3 sweep, Stephanie Rovig cruised to victory in the 500 free with a 4:52.40 finish. Taking second place was Ashley Paterson in 5:03.89, and finishing third for the Tigers in 5:05.73 was Leah Cowperthwaite. Spenser Lauver claimed victory in the men's event, finishing in 4:36.60.

In the women's 100 fly, Cassie Cunningham placed first in 55.26. Anders Melin took first for the men in 48.31, while Scott Martin finished third in 50.19.

Francie Szostak claimed her second victory of the day and clocked the second all-time finish in Missouri history to loud cheers from the crowd in the 200 IM, as she easily beat out the competition with a 2:01.38 finish. Anastasia Sotiropoulos placed second in 2:05.86, and Dominique Bouchard finished third in 2:06.51. In the men's 200 IM, Scott Martin finished second in 1:53.27.

In the 400 free relay, the final event of the day, the Tigers finished strong. The women's A relay team of Lisa Nathanson, Stephanie Rovig, Francie Szostak, and Dominique Bouchard took first in 3:24.99, while the B relay team of Sydney Schaefer, Emy DiBenigno, Caitlin Connor and Lauren Mason finished second in 3:30.51.

For the men, the A relay team of Anders Melin, Mark Conroy, Jordan Hawley, and John Krause placed first in 3:01.10. Their time was good enough to take the third spot in the Missouri all-time record books.

Following this weekend's home victory, the Tigers will begin preparations to host the Missouri Grand Prix February 18-20. For updates on Mizzou Swimming & Diving, please visit MUTigers.com, and for more information on the Missouri Grand Prix, please visit missourigrandprix.com.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x