Missouri Tigers to face fierce competition on Friday when the Louisville Cardinals come to town.
The Missouri Tigers will be back in action in Columbia on Friday, January 3 at 11am against the Louisville Cardinals.
And while the weather may be cold in CoMo, it will be one fiery matchup in the pool.
The Louisville Cardinals belong to one of the most talented swim conferences: The Atlantic Coast Conference. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the ACC had 61 representatives. ACC newbie Cal led the way with 18 swimmers, and in total, ACC athletes collected 91 medals, 31 of which for Team USA.
Meanwhile, Louisville had four current Cardinals represent the school and an additional 5 alumni compete.
So, what does this mean for the Tigers?
It will be an uphill battle.
Both Louisville teams are currently ranked in the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA), with the women clocking in at No. 8 and the men at No. 10.
The meet is one of the toughest on the calendar, but will be a phenomenal learning experience. As my dad likes to tell me and my siblings before any competition, “every moment is a teaching moment.”
Both the Cardinal men and women have had phenomenal success this season. The only time the Cardinals have not been at the top of the podium was the SMU Classic (the women won, the men took second) and the Ohio State Invitational (men took second, women took third). Both squads also have a commanding win on their resume: an upset win over Tennessee.
The men also had a convincing win against the Purdue Boilermakers, a foe the Tigers could not topple earlier this year.
The Cardinals’ most recent matchup was the Ohio State Invitational in late November where a total of ten (!) Big Ten schools competed. While Louisville was on the podium, the Indiana Hoosiers pulled away with both wins.
On the diving side, the Cardinals also had placements at the USA Diving Winter Nationals, where they brought a total of six representatives. Ryan Preas and Rayce Winn took second in the 10 meter synchro event.
However, Missouri may have a slight advantage on the diving side.
The Tigers had two separate athletes place at the USA Diving Winter Nationals. Collier Dyer took 4th in the 3M springboard and 5th in platform, while Derek Colbert took 10th in platform.
Making waves on the big stage #MIZ pic.twitter.com/bmp8vamDDy
— Mizzou Swimming & Diving (@MizzouSwimDive) December 16, 2024
Matchups
The Tigers will be up against top speeds on Friday and as noted above, it will be a strong challenge.
To fully distinguish the challenge, I compared every top-time from Missouri to Louisville. So while the Cardinals hold the advantage in most events, there will still be ways for the Tigers to snag points.
Looking at the backstroke, it appears Grant Bochenski’s time of 45.83 is the one to beat. Unfortunately, it’s the only event of the stroke for both men and women where the Tigers hold the best time.
Same goes for Jan Zubik in the 200 fly. His time of 1:41.47 is the quickest I found, but the Cardinals have multiple swimmers trailing closely behind.
Abbey Taute enters this meet undefeated in the 200 back in head-to-head duals. Her fastest time clocks in at 1:56.40. However, it may not be enough to grab the top of the podium against Louisville.
In freestyle, freshman Luke Nebrich holds the edge in the 50 with a time of 19.52.
It appears Missouri will need to focus on freestyle sprint events, as those are where they hold the greatest advantage, and may be the one spot they can gather a multitude of points.
What spooks me the most about these speedy Cardinals is the long distance events. The Tigers have been consistent in the 1000 free, as multiple freshmen have cracked the top 10 of the record books. However, Louisville holds at least a 12 second advantage in the event. (Wow.) In Louisville’s dual meet against Tennessee, Daria Golovaty set a pool record of 9:38.80. And yes – she’s also a freshman. (Double wow.)
Last Year
During this matchup last year, the Tigers struggled greatly.
The Louisville men won by a score of 205-89, while the women won 203-96. Missouri swimmers only won two events, while Collier Dyer locked in a top spot in diving.
Their first win came in the women’s 200 butterfly courtesy of Taylor Williams.
Their other win was thanks to Jan Zubik, also in the same event. His winning time last year was 1:43.79. Since, he has improved his time by over two seconds.
Look for another big win from Zubik. Though this year, it should be more than one win collected by the men.
On the boards, Dyer’s win in the 1 meter will most likely be repeated. Last year, his score of 315.38 was good enough for third in the 3 meter. This year, Dyer has scored a season-high of 407.18 in the event. Big gains, big potential wins. Remember, diving events are scored just like swimming ones.
Importance
Even if the competition turns lopsided, putting up a fight against the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference champs and swim powerhouse will be crucial for this team.
In a season full of personal bests and proving they can rival others within the Southeastern Conference, gaining experience like this could inspire the team to push even harder moving forwards.
The Missouri men took 8th out of 10 in the SEC Championships last year while the women finished 11th/12.
There’s a lot of work to be done before the event at the end of February and this could be the turning point that boosts them out of the bottom of the conference.