Missouri State vs Drury
- January 20, 2024
- Springfield, Mo.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results (Friday)
- Results (Saturday)
Courtesy: Missouri State Athletics
SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State swimming & diving team sent off its seniors right Friday night as it swept crosstown Drury University in a dual meet at Hammons Student Center Pool. The women took the win over their Panther counterparts 166-72. The men earned themselves a win by a score of 142-99.
“I’m just really pleased with how we performed today,” head swim coach Dave Collins said. “Senior Day, obviously you want to send our seniors out on a high note. I felt like our team did that. We had great performances out of the seniors, some pretty great ones there. But we also had some breakout performances too.”
The seniors were a highlight as outgoing Bears accounted for six of Missouri State’s 19 wins across 26 total events.
Lily DeSpain got the senior festivities rolling with her win in the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.25). Holding the best time in the event across the MVC this season, DeSpain reset her previous time of 1:49.43 she set against Missouri last month.
Fifth-year senior Jordan Wenner earned her fifth individual win this season and third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.73. Her teammates, freshman Makenzie Kurre (51.36) and fellow senior Samantha Roemer (51.57), finished second and third respectively to sweep the podium.
Cabrini Johnson rounded out the senior women who secured wins in their final home meet. The swimmer from Rodgersville, Missouri earned her first individual win of the season with her season-best 2:14.74 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
“Today was a really good meet for me,” Johnson said. “It was a breakthrough kind of day. My 200 breast has been an event that I’ve struggled with. It was really good to see teammates also have breakthrough swims.”
The women were once again particularly strong in the relays, opening the meet with a win in the 400-yard medley relay. The combination of freshman Caitlyn Friebe, Cabrini Johnson, Roemer and Wenner defeated Drury’s A team by over three seconds with a time of 3:42.88. Missouri State ended the women’s events with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay with sophomore Lana Janson, senior Anna Lucas, Wenner and DeSpain (3:22.75).
Young Bears were also impressive. Freshman Claire Culberson smoked the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:14.22, one of the best times in the conference so far this season. Janson, in her first year in Springfield, won the 200 IM (2:03.60) for her first individual win of the season.
Freshman diver Maggie Arceneaux won both the 1-meter (239.55) and 3-meter (220.42) dives over at Breech Pool on Drury’s campus.
The senior men were just as impressive. Dylan Moffatt was the standout senior for the Bears with two individual wins on the night. Moffatt solidified his spot in the Mid-American Conference leaderboard in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a winning time of 9:27.80, only bested in the conference by his Hammons Student Center Pool-record time of 9:13.95 he set against Arkansas in November. Moffatt took another victory in the 500-yard freestyle (4:36.23) for his fourth win in the event and sixth overall this season.
“The meet went great,” Moffatt said. “We had great energy all throughout the meet. Winning two events really helped bring that energy to the team all the way through. It was just great to see the team get together to cheer people on and have a great day.”
AJ Huskey ended his Hammons career with a bang in the win in the 200-yard butterfly (1:49.71).
“It’s always super fun swimming for the Bears here at home,” Huskey said. “The energy is super high and it’s always an exciting meet. I had a pretty tough double today, 200 IM and 200 butterfly back-to-back. The 200 IM was a little rough but I’m glad I got to bounce back in the 200 fly and have a good meet.”
Other notable performances come in the 200-yard freestyle where the men got a podium sweep of their own with junior Reese Hodgins leading the way with a time of 1:38.98, followed by sophomore George Holesinger (1:39.98) and junior Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama (1:40.89).
Freshman Nadim Elgohary received roaring applause for his win in the 100-yard freestyle (44.98), his first win in the event. Sophomore Brayden Goeldner also took glory in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:01.82), a season-best for him.
Sophomore Storm Opdahl swept the 1-meter (314.10) and 3-meter (337.05) dives at Drury.
Missouri State will take on Drury again Saturday in the second part of the weekend home-and-home series tomorrow starting at noon. The swimming events will take place at Breech Pool on Drury’s campus while divers will participate at Hammons Student Center Pool at the same time as part of the same meet.
SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State swimming & diving teams concluded their home-and-home weekend series with crosstown Drury University Saturday afternoon following a Bears sweep of the men’s and women’s meets Friday night. The women replicated Friday’s success with a 153-84 win over the Drury women, but the men fell in a close battle with the Panthers, 123-118, at Breech Pool on Drury’s campus.
The women picked up where they left off in the relays early on. Missouri State’s quartet of freshman Caitlyn Friebe, senior Cabrini Johnson, senior Samantha Roemer and senior Jordan Wenner won the 200-yard medley relay in the first event of the day (1:41.92). The same group also won the 200 medley relay at the start of last night’s meet.
Senior Lily DeSpain expanded on her success in last night’s win in the 200-yard freestyle with a pair of wins in the 200 IM (2:02.69) and in the 500-yard freestyle (4:55.31). Her 200 IM time is the best by a Bear this season. Her three individual wins this weekend match her win total all season going into Senior Day last night where she was honored.
More seniors kept the festivities going today at Drury. Samantha Roemer held off Panther junior Mellie Wijk by one-hundredth of a second in the 100-yard butterfly (54.80). The win marks her fifth individual victory this season and third in the 100 fly.
Other consistent swimmers across both meets include sophomore Lana Janson, who got another win in the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.79) after earning her first win last night in the 200 IM. The freestyle was where the Bears feasted. Freshman Lindsey Hervey snagged her first individual win since October against Southern Illinois with an impressive 10:15.04 time in the 1,000-yard freestyle, a time just over two seconds back of the top MVC time in the event going into the weekend.
Jordan Wenner swept the 100-free this weekend. After winning it at Hammons Student Center Pool on Friday, she improved on her previous winning time with a 50.39 at Drury.
Cabrini Johnson took the mantle in the breaststroke events all weekend, taking another win in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.73) after winning the 200-breast on Friday.
The men battled hard up to the very end looking to complete the sweep over Drury, but despite the single-digit loss on the score sheet, the Bears maintained dominance in the endurance freestyle events.
Senior Dylan Moffatt once again headlined the Bears with two more individual wins to match his total from Friday. Just like on Senior Day, Moffatt got the men’s individual events started with a dominant win in the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:30.03), defeating the next-best finisher of Drury freshman Matteo Vissotto by nearly sox seconds (9:35.83). Moffatt also defended his 500-yard freestyle on Friday with an even better winning time on Saturday (4:37.41). His four individual wins this week bring him to a team-leading eight this season.
Junior Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama remerged to bring in more points on top of Moffatt’s stack with his first individual win since the opening meet of the season against Lindenwood in October. Suzuki-Tomiyama won his second 200 IM event this year with a time of 1:50.67.
Sophomore Luigi Maciel da Silva matched Cabrini Johnson’s win in the 100-yard breaststroke to give the Bears the sweep in the event. He came in with a time of 54.59 for his third individual win at MSU.
Missouri State swimming & diving will be back in action next weekend with a quick turnaround to the state of Illinois for another doubleheader starting with dual meets against UIC and Evansville on Friday, Jan. 26 at 5:00 p.m. in Chicago. The Bears will head to Westmont, Illinois the following day for the UIC Invitational starting at 10:30 a.m. at FMC Natatorium.
Courtesy: Drury Athletics
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Missouri State won both the men’s and women’s duals against Drury’s swimming & diving teams on Friday at Hammons Student Center in Springfield. The Missouri State women’s squad won 166-72, while the men’s team downed the Panthers 142-99. The two programs are staging duals on back-to-back days with the second set of duals scheduled for Saturday at noon at the Breech Pool on the Drury campus.
Men’s highlights
- The Drury men’s Medley Relay team was edged by 0.62 seconds as Viktor Khnykin, Davi Mourao, Alejandro Villarejo, and Yuri Cabral posted a time of 3:16.93
- The Panthers were 1-2-3 in the 200 Individual Medley as Ivan Adamchuk won the event (1:49.25), Alvaro Zornoza was second (1:51.63), and Mourao was third (1:51.85)
- Drury was also 1-2-3 in the 200 Back as Adamchuck won this event as well (1:46.24), Zornoza was second (1:49.49), and Khnykin finished third (1:49.48)
- The Panthers ended the night winning the 400 Free Relay as Lucas Minuer, Matteo Vissotto, Khynkin, and Cabral won with a time of 2:59.78
Women’s highlights
- Ashlyn Moore won the 50 Free with a time of 23.79
- Maria Munoz came in first in the 200 Fly (2:01.81)
- Lexi Waller took the 200 Back with a time of 2:02.24
Saturday’s dual against Missouri State starts at noon. The Panthers will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday with their graduating student-athletes before the meet at 11:45 am.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— One day after Drury competed at Missouri State, the two swimming & diving programs shifted their second head-to-head dual to Drury campus and the Breech Pool. This time, the Panthers men’s team edged the Bears 123-118, but the Missouri State women’s squad got past Drury 153-84.
Men’s highlights
- Drury opened the day with a win in the 200 Medley Relay as Viktor Khnykin, Davi Mourao, Alejandro Villarejo, and Yuri Cabral won by 0.26 seconds with a time of 1:28.50
- Ivan Adamchuk won the 200 Back by more than three seconds, posting a time of 1:38.01; then returned to win the 100 Back (48.68)
- Yuri Cabral took the 50 Free with a time of 20.25
- The Panthers had a 1-2 finish in the 100 Fly as Alejandro Villarejo won (47.80) and Viktor Khnykin was the runner-up (48.83)
- Lucas Mineur won the 100 Free with a time of 45.42
- Cole Earl won both diving events for the Panthers, taking the 1-meter event by ten points (318), and the senior won the 3-meter competition with 362.25 points.
- Drury clinched the win with a first-place finish in the 200 Free Relay as Khynkin, Tristan Olstad, Mineur, and Cabral combined for a time of 1:21.87
Women’s highlights
- Drury got a 1-2-3 finish in the 50 Free as Kasia Rogowska won (23.24), Ashlyn Moore was second (23.71), and Nastia Yermishyna was third (24.05)
- Mellie Wijk was second in the 100 Fly after being out-touched at the wall as her time of 54.81 was 0.01 seconds behind Missouri State’s Sami Roemer
- Lexi Waller earned a win in the 100 Back with a time of 55.49
- The Panthers closed the dual with a win in the 200 Medley Relay as Josie Bushell, Mari de Alencar, Elle Walker, and Ashlyn Moore swam a time of 1:33.56 to win by 0.28 seconds
Both Drury swimming & diving teams compete again on Friday and Saturday in a two-day dual against Oklahoma Christian.
