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Columbia, Mo. – The University of Missouri swimming and diving program begins its new season in Dallas this weekend for the SMU Classic.
The Friday meet session will begin at 6 p.m., the Tigers will be back at the pool for the Saturday session at 11 a.m.
Live results will be available Meet Mobile.
Missouri will send 10 swimmers and two divers to the season opener. Lina Bank, Peyton Drexler, Fernanda Goeij, Zara Zallen, Piper McNeil, Sierra Smith, Taylor Williams, Emily Roden and Kayla Wilson will represent the Mizzou women.
Calvin Windle, Logan Ottke, Will Goodwin, Daniel Wilson, Grant Bochenski, Sam Brown, Jan Zubik, Mikolaj Malec, Collier Dyer will compete for the men’s squad.
The event will be held at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center and Barr-McMillion Natatorium has been in session each year dating back to 1994, with Mizzou making its third appearance in successive seasons.
This year’s edition of the SMU Classic features six schools from across the country. The Tigers and Mustangs are joined by men’s and women’s teams from Auburn, Louisville and USC, while Texas brings their men’s side and Miami (Fla.) brings its women’s squad.
Last year, the Missouri men scored 298 points to finish third behind Texas and Texas A&M, while ahead of Michigan, Louisville and SMU. The Tiger women scored 255 points to come in fourth behind USC, Michigan and Louisville, and ahead of Miami (Fla.) and SMU.
Jack Dahlgren and Clement Secchi highlighted the 2023 trip for Mizzou, the former taking first prize in the 200 free by setting a meet record, while Secchi claimed victories in the 100 fly and 200 fly. The Tigers also won the men’s and women’s 200 free relays.
Overall, Missouri returns to the pool following a successful 2022-23 campaign. The men’s team finished 16th at the NCAA Championships in March, and featured an All-American, Dahlgren, and two All-American honorable mentions in Secchi and Ben Patton. The 200 free relay, 800 free relay also earned All-American honors, while the 400 medley earned All-American honorable mention.
RETURNING TIGERS
Returning to Columbia from last year’s squad are 34 student athletes. Of those returning, 15 Tigers were recognized as CSCAA Scholar All-America athletes, 10 qualified for last year’s NCAA Championships, and Kamryn Wong and Jan Zubic were named All-SEC freshman team performers.
WELCOME TO THE ZOU
Mizzou swimming and diving welcomes 17 freshmen from the 2023 class to campus.
Of those swimming and diving this weekend, incoming freshman Logan Ottke is making his debut for the black-and-gold. Ranked 293rd in SwimCloud’s 2023 high school class, the Morrow, Ohio native is beginning to hit his stride as he enters campus, setting six new personal bests at the Ohio Spring Senior Invitational in March.
Freshmen Peyton Drexler, Piper McNeil, Emily Roden and Zara Zallen also make their debuts for the Tigers on the women’s side.
Men’s newcomers:
Leo Kurucz | Lee’s Summit, Mo. | Lee’s Summit West
Matthew Mortenson | Woodbury, Minn. | East Ridge
Alex Ochsenbein | Lexington, Ky. | Paul Laurence Dunbar
Manuel Osorio | Santiago, Chile
Logan Ottke | Morrow, Ohio | Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy
Jaden Pospishil | Omaha, Neb. | Omaha Burke
Matthew Stephenson | Austin, Texas | Concordia
Darden Tate | Columbia, S.C. | AC Florida
John Watson | Omaha, Neb. | Creighton Prepatory
Tommasso Zanella
Women’s newcomers:
Peyton Drexler | Hartland, Wis. | Arrowhead
Olivia Liddle | Columbia, Mo. | Rock Bridge
Piper McNeil | Shawnee, Okla. | Shawnee
Chloe Mudadu | Las Vegas, Nev. | Faith Lutheran
Emily Roden | Northville, Mich. | Northville
Francesca Smith | Oconomowoc, Wis. | Arrowhead
Kylee Sullivan | Saint Louis, Mo. | Parkway South
Zara Zallen | Boulder, Colo. | Boulder
MEET THE STAFF
Andrew Grevers begins his fifth full season at the helm of the Mizzou Swimming and Diving programs in 2023-24.
During his fourth campaign leading both squads, the men’s team earned 16th place at the NCAA Championships. Graduate student Jack Dahlgren earned First Team All-America accolades in two events, while four other men’s swimmers earned All-America honorable mention honors in various individual events. Three women’s swimmers also earned individual berths to the NCAA Championships. All of Mizzou’s men’s relays had top-20 finishes at the championships, and four women’s relays qualified for the national event. The two teams broke a total of six school records in the pool during the campaign, two of which while at NCAA’s.
During his third season leading both Mizzou programs, the men’s and women’s teams both claimed 25th place finishes at the NCAA Championships, where the Tigers garnered two First Team All-America and six All-America Honorable Mention accolades. Mizzou claimed two podium finishes at the SEC Championships. The Tigers also broke three school records during the 2021-22 campaign.
In his second season leading the Tigers, Grevers led the men’s and women’s programs to 16th and 18th place team finishes, respectively, at the 2020-21 NCAA Championships. The Mizzou programs had six individuals and five relays claim All-America honors. At the 2021 SEC Championships, the men’s and women’s teams claimed sixth and seventh place finishes, respectively. Between the two programs, the Tigers set five school records in the 2020-21 season.
In his first full year as the program’s leader in 2019-20, Grevers made the program his own with ZouStyle, a commitment to a winning process. Under his direction last year, the men’s and women’s programs earned finishes of fifth and eighth, respectively, at the 2020 SEC Championships, where sophomore Danny Kovac claimed the SEC men’s 100 fly title to become only the second men’s Mizzou swimmer to win an SEC crown. A total of 13 total individual Tigers qualified for the eventually canceled 2020 NCAA Championships and 18 earned CSCAA All-America honors. Over the campaign, Mizzou went a combined 15-2 (8-0 men and 7-2 women) in the regular season, with both programs ranked in the TYR/CSCAA Division I polls for most of the year.
Grevers, who served as the interim head coach during the 2018-19 season, had the interim tag removed from his title on May 24, 2019.
Diving coach Kyle Bogner also begins his fifth campaign at Missouri in 2023-24.
During his fourth year in Columbia, Bogner led five Tiger divers to the NCAA Zone D Championships. Freshman Collier Dyer earned an NCAA berth on 3-Meter, while leading rookie Kamryn Wong to SEC All-Freshman team honors.
In his third year at Mizzou, Bogner led three Tiger divers to NCAA Championship bids. All six Tiger divers qualified for the NCAA Zone D Championships. Two Mizzou divers earned SEC Diver of the Week honors. The Tiger squad won 20 event titles, including a platform title at the Mizzou Invite and at the Tennessee Diving Invitational.
In his second season with the Tigers, Bogner had four divers earn NCAA Championships berths. At the SEC Championships, the Mizzou diving squad had five top-10 finishes, including an SEC crown.
In his first year in Columbia, Bogner led a Tiger diving squad that featured four divers who earned NCAA Championships berths, the most for the program since five Tigers qualified in 2017. All four divers earned CSCAA All-America honors on the season. At February’s SEC Championships, two divers also claimed three top eight finishes, and the men’s squad won the men’s team title at the Bruin Diving Invitational in January.
Bogner came to Columbia after four seasons at Wyoming.
The pair of head coaches are joined this season by associate head coach Alec Hayden, who begins his fifth year at Missouri, along with assistant coaches Bex Freebairn, Madeline Banic, Andrew Sansoucie and Drew Sheldon.
The Tiger’s support staff includes assistant coach and director of operations Noah Mitchell, associate director Joe Collins, athletic trainer Jared Hyler, and associate director of academic services Jessica Buser.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Swim & Dive. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Mizzou Swimming and Diving) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouSwimDive).
