MU swimmers, divers coast past Jayhawks

The team finished first in 10 of the 16 events.

By Sean Leahy

Published Nov. 3, 2008

In search of its first win of the season, the No. 21 Missouri women's swim team was in no short supply of motivation. Not only did they have a vocal contingent of swimmers and divers on hand, but also the No. 23 Kansas Jayhawks were looking to hand MU a second-straight loss.

Feeding off of the electric atmosphere, MU women's swimming snatched an early lead in the point total and cruised to a win over its border rival, with a score of 173.5 to 121.5.

"I feel like we've been pumped for this meet all week," sophomore Lauren Lavigna said. "So, to get a big win by 50 points, it's amazing."

It was MU's third win in a row over Kansas and the eighth in their last nine head-to-head showdowns.

Wasting no time to grab the momentum of the meet, the Tigers opened with a quick lead. They finished first in three of the first four events, while grabbing second in the opening race, the 200-yard medley relay.

"It definitely gave us a lot of confidence," senior Lori Halvorson said. "We were really hoping to get out there and hopefully get in front as much as we could and hold on from there."

Halvorson, Lavigna and senior Jill Granger, sparked their team to the win. Each claimed two first-place finishes.

"It's a great rivalry," coach Brian Hoffer said. "I think both teams get up for it. And any time you go up against the Jayhawks, you just got to get up and race."

Other first-place finishes for MU came from sophomore Francie Szostak, who raced in the 500-yard freestyle; junior Colleen Gordon in the 100-yard butterfly; senior Kendra Melnychuk in one-meter diving; and freshman Jordan Morcom, who competed in the three-meter diving event.

Halvorson said she could feel the energy even before the meet started.

"In the locker room, the girls had so much energy," she said. "They were ready to get in there and have some good races and really put up some good times."

Hoffer said his seniors got the team keyed up enough to place high in nearly every race.

"We went down (to Lawrence, Kan.) their freshman year, and it was a tough loss," the coach said. "I think ever since then they've understood that, any time you race someone in the Big 12, let alone your biggest rival, you have to be ready to go."

In total, the Tigers finished first in 10 of the 16 events, and only twice did they not place in the top three in any event.

After so much talk about the rivalry, Hoffer kept things in perspective.

"We always like to win no matter who it is," he said. "A conference win is great. We'll take as many as we can get."