The Jason Owen era in Lindenwood swimming got underway on Friday night in Columbia, Mo. at the 2012 Show-Me Showdown. The men's and women's teams both finished in fourth place out of a total of eight teams.
 
The men's team scored a total of 481 points and finished behind the champion, Missouri, followed by Missouri State, and Drury. The Lady Lions compiled 459 points which was behind Missouri, Missouri State, Drury, and Truman State.

"We have some very strong competition right here in Missouri with two Division I programs and 3 of the top Division II programs in the country," said Owen. "Mizzou finished 14th (women) and 19th (women) last year in Division I and Missouri State is getting better every year. Drury and Truman State have both won numerous national championships and Missouri S&T has placed as high as second in recent years at the Division II nationals. It is the perfect environment for the team to start their season.  We were able to see how we measure up now and set some goals moving forward. We definitely had some strong performances, but improvement is our main focus. We will see these teams later in the season and we hope to improve on our performances with every competition."
 
Uba Zavaleta and Ramunas Paknys were the top performers for the Lions. Zavaleta finished in fifth place in the 200 free, and seventh in the 500 freestyle. Paknys placed sixth in the 100 free and third in the 100 backstroke.  On the diving board, David Cochran placed fifth on the one meter and eighth in the three meter.
 
Audra Thornton led the way for the Lady Lions with two top-10 finishes. She placed eighth in the 100 free and 10^th in the 200 free. Gilad Brunfman also finished eighth in the 100 butterfly.
 
Both teams will be off until October 20 when Truman State comes to St. Peters, Mo. for a dual.