Meet Results
- October 20-21
- Meet Results
- Score
- Missouri State 491, South Dakota 208
- Kansas 275, South Dakota 77
- Missouri State 188, Kansas 164
Press Release
Courtesy of Missouri State Athletics
Holding on to yesterday’s lead, the Missouri State swimming and diving team made out with three victories as both teams beat South Dakota and the women’s team downed Big-12 member Kansas, Saturday afternoon at Robinson Natatorium.
The men’s team posted a 224-123 win over South Dakota while the women dominated the Coyotes, 267-85. Grinding out a big victory for the Bears, the women also took down the Kansas Jayhawks, winning the dual 188-164.
“We had a great team weekend in Lawrence,” head coach Dave Collins said. “I am so proud of the way our women performed from top to bottom. We had great leadership from our upperclassmen, paired with some gutsy performances from some freshmen.”
Following yesterday’s trend, the women’s team scored big points in numerous events. Junior Josie Pearson stood out once again, bringing in first-place finishes in the 400 IM (4:24.86) and 100 fly (56.39). Pearson concluded her individual events with a second-place finish in the 200 breast (2:22.13).
“We came into this meet as underdogs and it was awesome to see how all of us girls rallied behind one another, making every point count,” Pearson said. “We just made a huge statement by taking down a Big 12 team and I’m so glad that I got to be a part of that.”
Another Bear who carried yesterday’s success over today was Libby Howell, who claimed the 500 free in 4:58.43 for her third victory of the weekend.
“I’m really happy with how great our team dynamic is,” Howell said. “As a freshman, I’ve never experienced that before and it’s such an amazing thing to be a part of. The team atmosphere is what really pushed me to be able to win for the first times at a collegiate level. I’m so excited to see what the rest of the season has to offer.”
Senior Sydney Zupan was the other swimmer on the women’s side to earn a victory as she took the 200 back with a time of 2:02.62 – just before teammate Sarah Allegri. The women took second in the day’s relays, finishing just behind Kansas in the 200 and 400 free relay events.
The Missouri State divers saw their share of success as well. Newcomers Ashley Yarbroughand Michael Claunch each picked up huge victories in their respective events. Yarbrough was masterful on the 3-meter board, bringing in 292.55 points which makes her fifth in the all-time record books.
“I’m very happy with my performance, but I couldn’t have done it without the support of my teammates,” Yarbrough said. “It was very encouraging to have done so well against such respectable teams.”
Representing the men’s divers, Claunch earned a first-place finish as well, capturing the 1-meter board with 274.40 points.
“Working with such a young team can have challenges, but not with this team,” diving coach James Huelskamp said. “They are gifted, talented and ready to work. This weekend was proof of the hard work they put into practice. I felt this weekend was going to be the meet that the divers were going to break out and shine.”
The men’s swimmers had no trouble handling the Coyotes, breaking out massive wins in the 200 and 400 free relays. The men boasted six individual winners while earning an additional second and third-place finishes in the 400 and 200 free relays, respectively.
Senior William Frisbie earned his first victory of the season, completing the 200 back with a time of 1:53.53. Sophomore Conner Ripp touched the wall first in the 100 fly (52.48) and junior Artur Osvath picked up his second B-cut of the season, touching the wall first in the 200 breast with a time of 1:58.14.
Other Bears to earn victories were Christopher Heye (400 IM, 4:00.16), Minki Kang (500 free, 4:36.12) and Will Brand (100 free, 46.72).
“I was extremely impressed with how everyone swam this weekend,” Brand said. “We were able to come together as a team and just have fun. This meet with set the tone for the duel against Drury this Friday, and the next few weeks of training.”
Missouri State’s efforts against Kansas and South Dakota will make its mark in the program record book as both teams came out with historic performances. The men’s and women’s victory marks the first win in its inaugural meetings against South Dakota. On an even bigger note, the women’s team earned its first victory against the Jayhawks in program history.
“Any time you can win on the road against a Power 5 program, it’s a good day,” Collins added. “We feel like this is just the beginning of what our women’s group can accomplish. Our men continue to perform at a high level and are always pushing each other to be better. We will enjoy these wins and, on Monday, get refocused for our meet against Drury.”
Coming Up Next
The Bears return to action next week for its annual homecoming meet at Hammons Student Center. For all the latest information on the Missouri State swimming and diving team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MoStateSwim on Twitter.
Press Release
Courtesy of Kansas Athletics
A hot start for Kansas swimming and diving cooled off into Saturday afternoon inside Robinson Natatorium as the Jayhawks posted a 1-1 mark in their last home meet in October against Missouri State and South Dakota. KU defeated the Coyotes, 275-77, before falling short against the Bears, 188-164.
The Jayhawks entered the day in a 40-point deficit to MSU and showed promise with an early victory in the final day’s first event, the 200-yard freestyle relay. The foursome of junior Taylor Sieperda, junior Haley Bishop, sophomore Carly Straight and freshman Manon Manning turned in a time of 1:35.77 to take home the gold.
“It was really important how we started today,” head coach Clark Campbellsaid. “Yesterday is not what we are about. I think we all were embarrassed and disappointed in our performance Friday night. We challenged the girls to come back today and turn it around. We are going to have heart and courage, and I think you saw that today, especially with those first few events. We swam at a much higher level today than we did yesterday.”
That fast start carried into the 100-yard freestyle where Kansas placed one through four. Sophomore Jenny Nusbaum paced the pack to take home the gold with a time of 52.24. Sieperda took the silver in 52.81, Straight the bronze in 52.99 and junior Breonna Barker swam a time of 53.24 to finish in fourth place.
“We have a lot of good 100-yard freestylers,” Campbell said. “That race is what we are all about.”
Junior Haley Downey backed up her performance last night in the 100-yard breaststroke with another gold performance in the 200-yard breaststroke. Downey led wire-to-wire to finish with a time of 2:20.88 – 1.33 seconds faster than the runner-up finisher.
Outside of those three events, it was all about consistency for Campbell and his squad as they podiumed nine other times. The two events that kept to the theme of regularity for the Jayhawks were the 500-yard freestyle and the three-meter dive.
Nusbaum and freshman Crissie Blomquist raced to a two-three finish in the 500 free with times of 4:58.91 and 5:01.65, respectively. Senior diver Nadia Khechfe closed the meet with a score of 248.90 in the three-meter dive for her second silver in as many days.
“Our program is about consistency,” Campbell said. “I think this meet underscores that. We got out of our routine with fall break earlier in the week, and it showed Friday night. We need to be consistent in everything we do. For student-athletes like swimmers and divers, the more consistent you are, the better you are going to perform.”
Kansas sparked a little momentum in the day’s final event with a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Nusbaum, Barker, Bishop and Straight combined for the event’s top time coming in at 3:29.03, crushing its opposition by 2.46 seconds.
“That 400-yard freestyle relay we have is a really good relay,” Campbell said. “Now we need to take that momentum from today and have a good consistent week, and head down to face a conference opponent in TCU.”
Kansas will garner that momentum from the end of the meet and carry it on to face its first league opponent of the season in TCU, Saturday, Oct. 28 in Fort Worth, Texas.
“Next week is all about toughness,” Campbell said. “We are going to train like normal and then head down to TCU Saturday morning, race them Saturday afternoon and head back Saturday night. It is all about being tough.”
