For the first time in the history of the men's swimming and diving program, the Lindenwood Lions defeated Missouri State University, 153-147. On the women's side, LU fell short 170-130.
Head Coach Jason Owens stated, "We have had some talented teams in the past, but this team understands what it takes to compete. Their performance today was not perfect, but the team was aware and connected in a way that I haven't seen before. We are excited to see what this group can do!"
The men demonstrated their sheer athleticism by claiming first in the 200-yard medley. Matheo Mateos-Mongelos, Mattia Giurgevich, Elliott Irwin and Ondrej Dusa completed the event in 1:31.55 while another Lindenwood team secured third with a time of 1:33.35; with Piotr Kowalczyk, Polat Tasbasi, Lance Godard and Trevor Danner making up the team.
Joselle Mensah completed the 200-yard freestyle in 1:55.24 for a Lindenwood first place finish, while Beata Maruszczyk finished in third with a time of 1:56.88. Stephanie Marks' backstroke left little doubt that she came to win as she finished in first with a time of 58.15 in the 100-yard backstroke competition.
"The meet today was all about racing rather than times and that made the pool deck such a fun and competitive place to be. We all just wanted to get our hand on the wall first at our home pool. The competition today just made me excited for the rest of the season as we keep working hard and get to take on more opponents in the coming weeks," said Stephanie Marks.
Maja Piotrowicz captured first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.80 while Giurgevich won the men's competition with a time of 56.37. In the 200-yard butterfly, the Lion's Nick Williams placed second with a time of 1:53.45. The 50-yard freestyle witnessed Kornelia Buszka and Kayla Bulseco take second and third respectively, with times of 24.51 and 24.80. For the men, Elliott Irwin sealed the race with a time of 20.71, for a first-place finish and Trevor Danner finished in third with a time of 21.35.
"It was a very strong start to the season for the lions, we are going to keep riding the victory wave all way to the summit league championships," expressed Irwin.
Lindenwood swept first in the 100-yard freestyle. Mensah finished in 52.37 on the women's side and Ondrej Dusa recorded a time of 45.43. Piotrowicz completed the race in 53.97 for a third-place finish on the women's side. Marks took the women's 200-yard backstroke in 2:08.15 and was joined in the top three by teammate, Ellie Lopez (2:09.72).
Maruszczyk's time of 2:22.88 was phenomenal in claiming the women's 200-yard breaststroke. On the men's side, Brunno Suzuki finished in third (2:06.50). Megan Hollaar took second with a time of 5:14.10 in the women's 500-yard freestyle. Adam Szczerba and Nico Heye finished in second and third for the LU on the men's side with times of 4:35.80 and 4:46.45. Irwin recorded a first-place finish for the Lions in the men's 100-yard butterfly with a time of 48.65, while teammate Lance Godard finished in second (50.20).
Lindenwood's Piotrowicz recorded a 2:09.95 for a second-place finish in the women's 200-yard IM, while Mateos-Mongelos finished in 1:53.79 for the Lindenwood men. The women's 200-yard freestyle concluded with Lindenwood's Marks, Kornelia Buszka, Mensah, Piotrowicz finishing in first with a time of 1:36.24. On the men's side, LU finished in first and second. The first-place team (Dusa, Patryk Winiatowski, Irwin and Danner) recorded a time of 1:22.63. The second-place team (Godard, Giurgevich, Adam Szczerba and Ryan Boeding) finished with a time of 1:25.03.
"Diving pulled out the men's victory after being down 12-points going into the dive events," stated Assistant Coach Canaan Campbell.
Lindenwood will be back in action on October 20-21, when they travel to Lawrence, Kansas, to face the University of Kansas and the University of South Dakota.
