Mizzou Dual Challenge - Day Three

Missouri - 135, Men - 108; Missouri - 148.5, Women - 94.50

 

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Virginia Tech men's and women's swimming and diving programs leave the three-day Mizzou Dual Challenge with a combined 7-2 meet record after both losing to tournament host Missouri on Sunday morning at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.

In an unique format, the Mizzou Dual Challenge involves six schools, including host Missouri, competing against one another during a three-day stretch. Prior to Sunday, the men had defeated Southern Illinois, Missouri State and NCAA Division II champion Drury, while the women had beaten the same three schools and Illinois.

Also, instead of the standard 16 events for a meet, the teams only competed in eight swimming events and one diving event for each match. However, Sunday's dual meet involved 12 swimming events and scores from the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events that took place on Saturday.

The Missouri men and No. 20-ranked women swept Tech by a score of 135-108 and 148.5-94.50, respectively, to finish the weekend undefeated. With the losses, the No. 25-ranked women drop to 7-2 (1-1 ACC) while the men are now 5-3 overall (0-2 ACC).

In total, without the services of All-American Sara Smith (McGaheysville, Va.) due to injury, the women won three events and finished second in seven. The 200 medley relay team of Jordan McHorney (Virginia Beach, Va.), Jessica Botzum (Raleigh, N.C.), Megan Newell (Ashburn, Va.) and Kaleigh Gomes (Charlotte, N.C.) kicked off the meet with a victory. Abby Barney (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Millie Campbell (Richmond, Va.) later followed that performance by winning the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke, respectively.

McHorney had another strong day overall as she also placed second in the 50 and 100 freestyle events. Sarah Milton recorded second-place finishes in both diving events off of Saturday's performance, while Botzum took second in the 200 IM. Kelly deMarrais (Bernardsville, N.J.) and Lauren Ritter (Sterling, Va.) took second in the 200 backstroke and 500 freestyle, respectively.

For the men, Kaan Tayla (Ankara, Turkey) led the charge as he finished first in the 50 free and 100 freestyle events. Ian deToll (Culpeper, Va.) and Stephen Hawkins (Forest, Va.) followed close behind in the 50 free to finish second and third, respectively. Tayla also helped the 400 freestyle relay team of deToll, Jake Bova (Roanoke, Va.) and Zach Holmes (Clifton, Va.) finish first.

Griffin Lutterbein (Manakin-Sabot, Va.) and Trey Stewart (Luling, La.) added victories for Tech in the 1000 freestyle and 200 butterfly events, respectively. Scott Beard (Chesterfield, Va.) added two second-place finishes in the 200 IM and 200 backstroke, while Chip Hughes (Greer, S.C.) and Scott Harkins (Williamsburg, Va.) finished second in the 500 freestyle and 200 breaststroke events, respectively.

In the diving events, Mikey McDonald won the 3-meter event and finished second in the 1-meter.

The H₂Okies will now take a much-deserved break until Nov. 15 when they head to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the annual Nike Cup Invitational (Nov. 15-17).