Jan. 26, 2008
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The 20th-ranked Mizzou men's swimming and diving team (10-2, 1-0 Big 12) posted a 183-117 victory over Iowa, Saturday, to send the squad's seniors off in style. The Tigers took 11 of 16 events in front of a spirited home audience to earn their 10th win of the season.
"We are in a good groove right now," said Tiger Head Coach Brian Hoffer. "The guys are rising to every challenge and just attacking. I thought they raced smart today and swam within themselves. Lex, especially, put on a great show. He really stepped up and provided a big boost for the rest of the guys. The team responded very well to his efforts and I couldn't be more pleased."
Senior Lex Howard swam to a pair of runner-up finishes on Saturday. The East Wenatchee, Wash., native clocked a 51.31 to secure the second spot in the 100 fly. Junior Gilad Kaufman earned the win in the event in a time of 49.89. Howard touched the wall in a time of 1:53.79 to capture a second runner-up finish in the 200 portion of the event, just behind freshman Spenser Lauver's winning time of 1:53.17.
Fellow senior Travis Floyd raced to the win in the 200 back (50.34), an event that featured four Tigers in the top-five. Floyd also combined with teammates Kaufman, sophomore Martin Cernansky and freshman Jordan Hawley to record a win in the day's opening event, the 200 medley relay, in a time of 1:33.14.
Riding the wave of his team's relay win was redshirt freshman Cameron Sellers, who netted a win in the 1000 free in a time of 9:34.71. Sophomore Bobby Sundvold rounded out the top-three with his time of 9:48.17.
After his relay win earlier in the day, Hawley returned to the pool for a win of his own in the 50 free. The Texan's time of 21.13 was just ahead of sophomore Dylan Lynn's third-place clocking of 21.57. Lynn returned to the pool shortly to take runner-up honors in the 100 free in a time of 46.59, nipping third-place Hawley by a mere six-hundredths of a second.
Junior Bryan Difford wanted a piece of the action himself, Saturday, and did just that in the 200 IM. The South African paced the field in a time of 1:55.30. Two spots back was classmate Jake Hoffmann, who turned in a time of 1:56.97 in his third-place effort.
Putting his consistency on display yet again this season was Cernansky, who coasted to a pair of wins against the Hawkeyes. The Austrian recorded a time of 57.37 to edge senior Brandon Lee (58.28) in the 100 breast and added a second win to his collection in the 200 portion of the event in a time of 2:05.06.
Sophomore Greg DeStephen posted a pair of wins himself in the diving well. The Columbus, Ohio, native tallied a score of 302.75 to win the 1-meter diving competition and totaled an impressive 360.35 points to triumph on the 3-meter board. Freshman Dante Jones (304.05) and sophomore Ryan Meeker (277.80) finished third and fourth, respectively, in 3-meter diving.
"It's nice to see our hard work beginning to pay off in competition," said Mizzou Diving Coach James Sweeney. "The guys have been working extremely hard all season long. Greg has found a focus this season that I didn't see in him last year. He is turning into a great competitor."
The Tigers take a two-week break from competitive action and return to the pool Friday, Feb. 8, when they travel to Springfield, Mo., to take on Drury at 5 p.m.
