This afternoon, the Mizzou Tigers traveled to Columbia, South Carolina to compete against the University of South Carolina, a fellow SEC team. On the women’s side, the meet was a tough battle, with neither team having a clear lead. The men’s meet, however, was dominated by the Tigers from start to finish. Here’s a recap of the meet’s highlights:
The women’s meet was full of races that came down to the finish, and the leading team was unclear until the very end when the Gamecocks finished seven points ahead of the Tigers. Each team picked up wins in seven of the fourteen swimming events. The Mizzou women started the meet off well with a 1-2 finish in the 200 medley relay. The A relay squad of Hannah Stevens, Abby Duncan, Erin Metzger-Seymour, and Rachel Hayden touched first in 1:42.72, followed by the B relay in 1:45.11. The women of South Carolina responded to the beginning of the meet with a triple threat in the 1000 freestyle: Victoria Mitchell won in 10:01.79, followed by her teammates Sarah Smith (10:09.72) and Charlsie Reneski (10:17.33).
Mizzou’s women won a streak of events in the middle of the session (100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 50 freestyle, and 100 freestyle), including a 1-2 sweep in the 100 breaststroke. Abby Duncan took first in 1:01.79, just ahead of her teammate Katharine Ross in 1:02.42. Mizzou later achieved a 1-2 finish in the 200 breaststroke as well, with Duncan (2:13.35) and Ross (2:17.14) repeating their earlier order. South Carolina’s women also posted another 1-2 sweep after their 1-2-3 finish in the 1000 freestyle. In the 200 backstroke, Victoria Mitchell and Elisabeth Worrell placed first and second, touching the wall in 2:01.65 and 2:03.02, respectively.
In the men’s meet, Mizzou clearly led South Carolina throughout the session. The Tigers won ten out of the fourteen swimming events. The Tigers were off to a great start after the first relay, the 200 medley. The A relay and the B relay swept the event, with the A relay of Carter Griffin, Sam Tierney, Andrew Sansoucie, and Matthew Margritier touching first in a time of 1:30.78. The B relay came in second, finishing in 1:31.82. The Gamecocks responded with a 1-2-3 sweep in the 1000 freestyle, much like the women’s team did just before them. USC’s Akaram Mahmoud took first in 9:11.74, well ahead of the rest of the field. Tom Peribonio took second in 9:20.03, followed by Travis Morrin in 9:24.95. South Carolina only had three other event wins after the 1000 freestyle: the 200 freestyle (Marwan El Kamash, 1:39.07), 500 freestyle (Marwan El Kamash, 4:27.44), and the 400 IM (Tom Peribonio, 3:55.09). In addition, Akaram Mahmoud touched second in the 500 freestyle behind El Kamash, giving the Gamecocks a 1-2 sweep of the event.
Out of the ten events that Mizzou’s men won, two besides their opening 200 medley relay were sweeps. In perhaps the most dramatic finish of the meet, Mizzou posted a 1-2-3-4 sweep in the 200 butterfly. Mack Darragh won the event in 1:48.25, closely followed by Daniel Graviss (1:48.28). Carter Wallace (1:51.94) and Andrew Phillips (1:52.83) touched in third and fourth, respectively. The 100 butterfly was also a good event for the Tigers. Darragh won again in 49.24, followed by Andrew Sansoucie (49.70) and Martin Wallace (50.81).
Women’s final scores:
South Carolina 153.5 – Mizzou 146.5
Men’s final scores:
Mizzou 181 – South Carolina 119
Full results: http://www.mutigers.com/sports/w-swim/stats/2014-2015/resultssc.html.
The Mizzou men and women will next compete next Friday against Drury at home. The dual meet will begin at 3 pm CT. South Carolina will compete against Clemson (women’s diving only), Queens (NC), Vanderbilt, and Wingate at home next weekend. This will be a two-day meet, beginning at 4 pm ET on January 23 and 10 am ET on January 24.