Before Friday, Michael Chadwick had never beaten fellow senior Fabian Schwingenschlogl in a head-to-head race. Then, at Missouri’s opening swim meet, coach Greg Rhodenbaugh entered both in the 200-yard individual medley.
In a duel between two of the top swimmers in Mizzou history, Chadwick came out on top. The U.S. National Team member finished first with a time of 1:49.16. Schwingenschlogl took third place, over two seconds behind Chadwick.
“It felt particularly good beating Fabian, that’s for sure,” Chadwick joked after the meet. “He brings the best out of me.”
Behind their strong core of seniors, the Tiger men took first place at the Show Me Showdown with 635.5 points, defeating nine other Missouri colleges. The Missouri women also won easily, scoring 717 points to finish over 300 ahead of Lindenwood.
Junior Hannah Stevens led the way for the women, taking first place in both the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke.
Like Chadwick, Stevens is also a member of the U.S. National Team. She was satisfied with her early-season times.
“I think that’s the fastest I’ve ever been at the beginning of the season,” she said. “It’s good, I’m happy with that.”
At the meet, freshmen swimmers made an impact on both the men’s and women’s teams. Peruvian record holder Azra Avdic took second in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard freestyle, Haley Hynes touched third in two events, and Sam Coloma picked up a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke.
Daniel Hein led the freshmen men, winning the 100-yard backstroke. Nick Alexander also had a strong meet, taking second place in the 200-yard individual medley.
“The underclassmen have really stepped up, and I’m really excited to see where they’ll go,” Stevens said.
Rhodenbaugh said that the team did not have any rest going into the meet. The swimmers had practice this morning and even attended classes before the meet.
“We all swam extremely well, especially at this point in the season,” Hein said. “We were all really broken down.”
Though he finished behind Chadwick in the 200-yard individual medley, Schwingenschlogl cruised to victory in the men’s 100-yard breaststroke. The defending NCAA champion touched the wall in 54.65. In the women’s race, senior Katharine Ross won by over five seconds with a time of 1:00.97.
In the diving well, Hunter Fritter won the men’s 1- and 3-meter competition. Madeline McKernan won both women’s events.
Though Rhodenbaugh was happy with the team’s showing, he still feels there are technical areas in which the team needs to improve. Overall, though, he feels the team is in a good place.
“The freshmen women were great and the freshmen men,” he said. “So there’s a lot to look forward to.”
The Tigers are back in the water on at noon Oct. 14 against Alabama.
_Edited by George Roberson | groberson@themaneater.com_
