Mizzou Tigers Rack Up Nation-Leading Times, Sweep All Opponents in Quad Meet

Kentucky vs Arkansas, Missouri, NC State

• Thursday, 11/7-Friday, 11/8
• Lancaster Aquatic Center, Lexington, KY
• SCY
• Quad-dual format
• Final Results
• Scores
  • Women
    • Missouri 206.5, NC State 146.5
    • Missouri 240.4, Kentucky 112.5
    • Missouri 285, Arkansas 68
    • NC State 213, Kentucky 140
    • NC State 261, Arkansas 91
    • Kentucky 254, Arkansas 99
  • Men
    • Missouri 252.5, NC State 100.5
    • Missouri 257, Kentucky 96
    • NC State 195, Kentucky 158

The Missouri women swept all four relays as they defeated all three opponents by wide margins. They kicked things with a nation-leading time in the 200 free relay with a 1:29.08, led by Haley Hynes‘ 21.87 split.

The Tigers never relented from there, winning five individual events and racking up numerous other top three finishes over the course of the two days.

Kate Moore tripled for NC State, winning the 500 free in 4:47.91, the 1000 free in 9:56.25, and the 400 IM in 4:16.32. Julia Poole‘s 1:58.55 in the 200 IM and Emma Muzzy‘s 1:54.00 in the 200 back both put them in the top five in the nation, pending other results from this weekend.

NC State was missing several stars, including Katharine Berkoff, Sophie Hansson, and Makayla Sargent, who are all swimming at the Greensboro PSS, and their presence definitely would’ve narrowed the gap between NC State and Missouri, and may have been enough to put NC State ahead. Senior sprint star Ky-Lee Perry did not appear here either, and has yet to swim in a meet this season.

While the Wildcats weren’t able to get any wins in their speciality, the backstrokes, they did get a win courtesy of Izzy Gati, who took the 200 fly in 1:58.89.

Arkansas also earned exactly one win, with sprint star Anna Hopkin winning the 100 free in a time of 48.56 that ranks her 7th in the country so far this season.

Missouri was even more dominant on the men’s side, as the Tiger men won all except four swimming events.

The free relays were especially strong, as their 1:19.51 in the 200 free ranks them 3rd so far this season, and the 400 free relay’s time of  2:53.56 is the top time in the nation. Both Kyle Leach and Giovanny Lima split sub-43, notably faster times at this point in the season even for being suited up, as the Tigers are doing at every meet this year. Mizzou’s 3:10.96 in the 400 medley relay also ranks #1 this season.

Danny Kovac and Nick Alexander both doubled for Missouri. Alexander swam a nation-leading 1:43.25 in the 200 back and also won the 200 breast in 1:59.54. Kovac won the 200 IM in 1:45.28, good for #3 so far this season, and also won the 100 fly with a 47.12, the #5 time this season.

Micah Slaton‘s 200 fly (1:45.15) and Carter Grimes‘ 400 IM (3:51.31) also rank in the top 5 so far this season.

Just as on the women’s side, the NC State men were missing a few big guns, including Coleman Stewart and Nyls Korstanje, both at the Greensboro PSS, but even those two wouldn’t have made much of a dent in Missouri’s 152-point win. Freshman Ross Dant sweet the distance events. First he out-dueled teammate Curtis Wiltsey in the 500 free, 4:23.25 to 4:23.69, both top ten times this season, and then he won the 1000 free in 9:02.02, the #5 time in the country.

Kentucky got a sweep of its own, as Peter Wetzlar took the sprint freestyles in 20.03/43.83. The latte time ranks #7 on the season.

Kentucky Release

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Sophomore Kyndal Knight led the No. 14 University of Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team to a win over Arkansas at the Lancaster Aquatic Center on Friday, sweeping her springboard events and remaining unbeaten on the 3-meter springboard this season.

In the 34-event quad meet featuring Arkansas, No. 4/9 Missouri and No. 3/7 NC State, the women’s team (5-3) defeated Arkansas, 254-99, and lost to Missouri, 240.5-112.5, and NC State, 213-140. The men’s team (2-4) lost to Missouri, 257-96, and NC State, 195-158.

Knight swept the 1- and 3-meter springboard events in the two-day quad meet, remaining unbeaten on the 3-meter board this season and carding seven of eight wins in all this season. On Friday, Knight topped the 3-meter field with a score of 325.75, beating second place by more than 30 points.

Sophomore Danny Zhang had his fair share of wins in the diving events this week, also collecting a pair of first place finishes in the 1- and 3-meter fields. Topping the 3-meter field on Thursday evening, he followed that up with a 1-meter win on Friday morning. His score of 316.80 on 1-meter was 17 points better than the second-place finisher.

Just like Knight and Zhang, senior Peter Wetzlar collected his second first-place finish of the meet Friday morning. Winning the 100-yard freestyle last night with the seventh-fastest time in the nation (43.83), the Zimbabwean topped the 50-yard freestyle field this morning with a time of 20.03. It marks his second-fastest time this season. His best mark of the year is 20.01, the 13th-fastest time in the nation.

Closing out the meet, the Kentucky men recorded the third-best time in the nation in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:55.39. It was led off by Wetzlar (43.97), then senior John Mitchell (44.58), followed by senior Jason Head (43.90) and anchored by senior Glen Brown (42.94). The foursome finished in second place behind Missouri’s 2:53.56, the top time in the nation.

Next on the Schedule
The program will take a two-week hiatus from competition before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for the Ohio State Invitational, Nov. 21-23. The meet annually attracts a competitive field as teams go head-to-head in a long-course format.

For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.

Missouri Release

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 4/9 Mizzou men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams dispatched four nationally-ranked foes and went a perfect 5-0 at a two-day quad dual against No. 3/7 North Carolina State, No. 17/14 Kentucky and Arkansas Friday morning at the Lancaster Aquatic Center in Lexington, Ky.

The No. 4 Tiger men took down the No. 3 Wolfpack 252.5-100.5 and defeated No. 17 Kentucky 257-96. Mizzou’s No. 9 women earned a 206-5-146.5 win over North Carolina State, defeated No. 14 Kentucky 240.5-112.5, and bested Arkansas, 285-68.

Over the course of the two-day meet, the Tigers combined to win 22 of 38 total events and posted three nation-leading relay times.

TOP TIGERS

After winning nine events on Thursday, Mizzou responded with 13 event wins Friday morning.

The Tigers swept Friday’s relays, with victories in the men’s and women’s 200 medley and 400 free relays. The men’s 400 free relay of sophomores Danny Kovac (Fort Collins, Colo.), Kyle Leach (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Jack Dahlgren (Victoria, Minn.) and senior Giovanny Lima (Sao Paulo, Brazil) closed the meet with a 2:53.56, which lowered Mizzou’s own nation-leading time.

Kovac and senior Nick Alexander (St. Louis, Mo.) added individual event wins after each earned a victory on Thursday.  Kovac claimed top honors in the 100 fly with a 47.12 to spearhead a top three Tiger sweep. Alexander took home his team-leading seventh win of the season after touching first in the 200 breast with a swim of 1:59.54.

Six other Tigers won events Friday morning. Hein and senior Haley Hynes (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) swept the 100 back with times of 47.80 and 53.07, respectively. Additionally, sophomore Molly Gowans (Victoria, British Columbia) and Lima were both victorious in the 200 free, as Gowns clocked a 1:47.61 and Lima went 1:35.53.

Also winners on Friday was junior Sarah Thompson (Collierville, Tenn.) in the 50 free (22.22), junior Carter Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev.) in the 400 IM (3:51.31) and sophomore Kayla Jones (St. Charles, Ill.) in the 200 breast (2:13.46).

QUOTABLES

Mizzou Head Coach Andrew Grevers
“It was more of the same for the Tigers. They really got behind one another today. We’re starting to see them get higher in the water and reinforce better details, and the results speak for themselves. We’re really excited for the Mizzou Invite and I can’t wait to see what these Tigers do two weeks from now.”

UP NEXT

Mizzou returns home to the Mizzou Aquatics Center for the Long Course Trials Qualifier on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. CT. The Tigers then host the three-day Mizzou Invite, Nov. 20-22, at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.

MIZZOU WINNERS

Friday
Women’s 200 Medley Relay – Haley Hynes, Molly Winer, Sarah Thompson, Megan Keil (1:36.66)
Men’s 200 Medley Relay – Jack Dahlgren, Caleb Hicks, Micah Slaton, Kyle Leach (1:27.74)
Women’s 50 Free – Sarah Thompson (22.22)
Women’s 100 Back – Haley Hynes (53.07)
Men’s 100 Back – Daniel Hein (47.80)
Women’s 200 Breast – Kayla Jones (2:13.46)
Men’s 200 Breast – Nick Alexander (1:59.54)
Men’s 100 Fly – Danny Kovac (47.12)
Women’s 200 Free – Molly Gowans (1:47.61)
Men’s 200 Free – Giovanny Lima (1:35.53)
Men’s 400 IM – Carter Grimes (3:51.31)
Women’s 400 Free Relay – Amy Feddersen, Sarah Thompson, Megan Keil, Molly Gowans (3:18.92)
Women’s 400 Free Relay – Danny Kovac, Kyle Leach, Jack Dahlgren, Giovanni Lima (2:53.56)

Thursday
Women’s 200 Free Relay – Sarah Thompson, Haley Hynes, Megan Keil, Alex Moderski (1:29.08)
Men’s 200 Free Relay – Caleb Hicks, Danny Kovac, Grant Reed, Kyle Leach (1:19.51)
Men’s 200 IM – Danny Kovac (1:45.28)
Women’s 100 Breast – Molly Winer (1:01.65)
Men’s 100 Breast – Nick Staver (54.58)
Men’s 200 Back – Nick Alexander (1:43.28)
Men’s 200 Fly – Micah Slaton (1:45.15)
Women’s 400 Medley Relay – Sarah Thompson, Molly Winer, Meredith Rees, Amy Feddersen (3:36.93)
Men’s 400 Medley Relay – Daniel Hein, Nick Staver, Danny Kovac, Giovanny Lima (3:10.96)

NC State Release

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 3/7 NC State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams secured top finishes in four more events as they wrapped up action at the Kentucky Quad Meet on Friday afternoon.

With three team wins on the weekend between the women’s and men’s squads, head coach Braden Hollowayeclipsed 100 career victories at NC State. Holloway has accumulated 101 head-to-head wins since taking charge of the programs at the start of the 2011-12 season.

The seventh-ranked Wolfpack women defeated the No. 14 Wildcats 213-140 and also picked up a 261-91 win over Arkansas. The Pack fell in its head-to-head matchup with No. 9 Missouri as the Tigers won 206.5-146.5.

Kate Moore led the way for the women as she took home titles in three individual events over the course of the two-day meet. Overall, NC State won six races, and 16 of the team’s performances were good for top-three finishes.

On the men’s side, the Wolfpack defeated 17th-ranked Kentucky by a 195-158 score. The Missouri men, who are ranked fourth in the nation, defeated NC State 252.5-100.5.

Freshman Ross Dant claimed a pair of wins for the Pack men, as 13 of the squad’s swims stood among the top three in their respective events.

FROM THE HEAD COACH:
“We had a pretty good weekend in Lexington,” said Holloway. “It was a great two-day meet with a bunch of teams that we usually don’t see a whole lot, which was a lot of fun. We didn’t really know what to expect besides our basic scouting report. Going into new competition always adds a twist to the meet. It changes things up, makes it a little more fun. Overall, I was really happy with our performances. We approved upon our first meet from two weeks ago. We definitely got better.

“We had new people step up with some of our team members being in Greensboro this weekend. It opened the door for some people to take control and take the lead in certain areas. We had a lot of new names step up to the plate this weekend, and I was happy with the energy and the focus of being involved in the meet.

“A couple of highlights. Obviously we had some great performances throughout the meet. Emma Muzzy, Kylee Alons, Kate Moore, Julia Poole – they played a pretty big role in our wins. Some of our freshman had some opportunities on the women’s side as well to kind of make their name known. One of the biggest weekend performances was by Sirena Rowe. I’m really happy about her two days and how much she helped us in the sprints and on the relays. Taylor Bennett also helped us with a great one-meter performance yesterday. On the men’s side, it was a great weekend by Noah Hensley, Hunter Tapp, Eric Knowles, Curtis Wiltsey, Ross Dant, to name a few. Kimani Gregory also got the look in the 100 breaststroke for the first time this year, and he made the most of it.

“Overall, we had some pretty good performances. Missouri got us on both sides, which is something we’ve got to learn from. At the same time, we got some good victories over well-coached teams with Arkansas and Kentucky. I’m happy with the weekend. It was a good trip, a fun trip. We still have to continue to learn from our events and where we can improve, whether it’s strategy or things we can take into consideration in daily training, but it was a good overall team performance.”

DAY TWO HIGHLIGHTS:
Moore rounded out a tremendous two days of individual performances with a pair of wins on Friday. She added to yesterday’s 500-yard freestyle gold with top finishes in the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 400-yard individual medley. The junior picked up the distance free win on the women’s side in 9:56.25 and went on to secure gold in the individual medley with a time of 4:16.32.

Emma Muzzy (4:18.04) also finished in the top three in the 400-yard individual medley, as did Eric Knowles(3:53.13), who took second on the men’s side.

The Pack continued its domination in the men’s distance free events as it posted the three fastest times in the 1,000-yard freestyle on Friday. Dant led the way with his second victory of the meet, touching the wall first in 9:02.03. His time ranks fourth in the nation this season.

Knowles (9:08.66) and Curtis Wiltsey (9:10.96) joined him on the podium. Wiltsey’s swim pushed him into the all-time top 10 list at NC State.

Kylee Alons, the NC State program record holder in the 100-yard butterfly, continued to find success in that event. She was the top finisher in 53.54 to add a sixth title for the Wolfpack women at the quad meet.

The women once again secured second-place finishes in both of the relays raced on Friday. Alons, Anna Shumate, Sirena Rowe and Vasiliki Baka went 1:38.85 in the 200-yard medley relay, and the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Alons, Rowe, Vasiliki Baka and Julia Poole finished in 3:20.00.

Noah Hensley posted another top-three finish, taking second place in the 100-yard backstroke (47.86). Alons was runner-up for the women with a time of 53.12 in that event.

Poole (1:49.00) and Hunter Tapp (1:38.13) both took third-place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle, and Rowe (22.55) impressed in her first 50-yard freestyle race of the season. Rafal Kusto also added a top-three result for the Pack men in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:00.07).

UP NEXT:
NC State returns to action Nov. 21-23 as it hosts the NC State/GAC Invitational at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

WOMEN’S TOP FINISHERS:

• 200 freestyle relay: Alons, Rowe, Maccausland, Baka (2nd place – 1:29.81)
• 200 IM: Julia Poole (1st place – 1:58.55)
• 500 freestyle: Kate Moore (1st place – 4:47.91)
• 100 breaststroke: Heather Maccausland (5th place – 1:02.54)
• 200 backstroke: Emma Muzzy (1st place – 1:54.00)
• 100 freestyle: Kylee Alons (2nd place – 49.26)
• 200 butterfly: Jessica Horomanski (4th place – 2:01.00)
• 400 medley relay: Muzzy, Maccausland, Alons, Poole (2nd place – 3:37.91)
• One-meter: Taylor Bennett (2nd place – 265.30)
• 200 medley relay: Alons, Shumate, Rowe, Baka (2nd place – 1:38.85)
• 1,000 freestyle: Kate Moore (1st place – 9:56.25)
• 50 freestyle: Sirena Rowe (3rd place – 22.55)
• 100 backstroke: Kylee Alons (2nd place – 53.12)
• 200 breaststroke: Heather Maccausland (6th place – 2:16.17)
• 100 butterfly: Kylee Alons (1st place – 53.54)
• 200 freestyle: Julia Poole (3rd place – 1:49.00)
• 400 IM: Kate Moore (1st place – 4:16.32)
• 400 freestyle relay: Alons, Rowe, Baka, Poole (2nd place – 3:20.00)
• Three-meter: Madeline Kline (7th place – 258.40)

MEN’S TOP FINISHERS:

• 200 freestyle relay: Henderson, Hensley, McGlaughlin, Rice (4th place – 1:20.47)
• 200 IM: Noah Bowers (7th place – 1:50.56)
• 500 freestyle: Ross Dant (1st place – 4:23.25)
• 100 breaststroke: Kimani Gregory (5th place – 55.69)
• 200 backstroke: Jacob Johnson (2nd place – 1:46.80)
• 100 freestyle:  Noah Hensley (3rd place – 44.10)
• 200 butterfly: Noah Henderson (2nd place – 1:47.19)
• 400 medley relay: Hensley, Gregory, Sobolewski, Tapp (3:15.00)
• Three-meter: Bayne Bennett (5th place – 252.05)
• 200 medley relay: Hensley, Gregory, Sobolewski, Tapp (4th place – 1:22.37)
• 1,000 freestyle: Ross Dant (1st place – 9:02.03)
• 50 freestyle: Noah Henderson (5th place – 20.53)
• 100 backstroke: Noah Hensley (2nd place – 47.86)
• 200 breaststroke: Rafal Kusto (2nd place – 2:00.07)
• 100 butterfly: Noah Henderson (4th place – 48.67)
• 200 freestyle: Hunter Tapp (T3rd place – 1:38.13)
• 400 IM: Eric Knowles (2nd place – 3:53.13)
• 400 freestyle relay: Tapp, Hensley, Bowers, Henderson (4th place – 2:58.29)
• One-meter: Bayne Bennett (5th place – 256.85)