I talked with Head Coach Andrew Grevers ahead of the conference championships and talked shop before the major meet.
After a full season of personal bests and down-to-the-wire meets, the Missouri Tigers face one more conference battle: the SEC Championships.
Last year, the Tiger men finished in 8th place out of 10 teams, while the women finished in 11th out of 12. They will be looking to change the tide this year.
Confidence, Veteran Leadership is Key
Talking with Coach Grevers, he spoke about the team’s confidence heading into the meet.
“We want to really just strengthen the bonds and unity between all our men and women to make sure we’re that cohesive unit on deck there in Georgia where every other team knows Mizzou is on solid ground and coming together to put a performance together that’s going to knock people’s socks off.”
He noted that the team isn’t messing with technique but rather focusing on the finite details and reinforcing good habits. Details which include touches at the wall, clean entries, relay exchanges, transitions, and finishes.
Grevers also mentioned a key piece of success heading into the meet is the veteran leadership on the team.
“I mean, obviously when you look at the senior class, you see tremendous leadership coming up. Sierra Smith, of course, Taylor Williams, our NCAA qualifier from last year has really stepped up as of recently, with not only her leadership, but her personal confidence in her swimming and her performances during practices. Olivia Liddle, she’s been incredible, and how she’s showing up and supporting the divers.”
He continued. “Of course, on the men’s side, Grant Bochenski has been phenomenal in and out of the water. Great leadership. Ty Spillane’s leadership is coming through, and it’s actually allowing his swimming to follow in suit. So he’s getting faster just because he’s been such a great leader. Collier Dyer on the diving side is, I mean, he’s been phenomenal all year. He’s been Diver of the Week in the SEC twice this season. Calvin Wendell, I mean, this guy is such a gamer when he when he steps up in the big spotlight, in the big moment, like in SEC championships, or hopefully NCAA’s the guy just laps it up and performs the highest caliber.”
Grevers reinforced that every single swimmer mentioned has been a vital piece of the team, contributing in ways more than they know.
Mini SECs Walk Through
An additional bonus for this Tiger team was the “mini-SEC’s” earlier this year. In late November, Mizzou participated in the Georgia Invitational in Athens, the same venue the SEC Championships will be held. At this invite, the men and women both took fifth place.
It was a meet that Grevers preached the importance of since the very beginning of the season, and he’s already seen results.
When Grevers took full helm of the team in 2019-2020, he instituted “ZouStyle” as a commitment to a winning process where they bring in mental performance coaches and have conversations and an open dialogue with their athletes to get feedback on meets like the mock SECs. They happen pretty much every Friday, as long as there’s not a competition.
“We’ve been able to reflect as a program,” he said. and the feedback from them on their ability and opportunity to create that routine at that facility, in that city, and really do a tiny little mock SEC’s.
“Obviously, as coaches, we knew it was going to be beneficial. As coaches, we’ve seen it, and we know what it does to breed that familiarity which will help them feel a little calmer. It’s the routine that will allow them to feel how it’s just another meet. They’ve already been there, done that. So not only do the coaches know this through our experiences throughout the years, but to hear it verbalized by the athletes without us having to lead them there, so to speak, gets me very excited about that investment that we made earlier in the season to set up for success here.”
Moving on Up
In his first year as Head Coach, the men finished fifth and the women in eighth at the SEC Championships. While the NCAAs were cancelled that year (Covid), 13 Tigers qualified. Mizzou went a combined 15-2 in the season, with both programs ranked in the polls most of the year.
Under his leadership, the team has finished as high as 16th at the NCAA Championships and earned 42 All-American nods.
With a mixture of talent and leadership, the Tigers hope to continue to break personal records and capture events this year.
Heading into this year’s championship, the following are top ranked individuals.
- Lina Bank: 10th in 100 breaststroke (59.81)
- Zara Zallen: 14th in 100 freestyle (48.58)
- Zoe Schneider: 16th in 1650 freestyle (16:24.31)
- Grant Bochenski: 8th in 100 backstroke (45.66)
- Alex Ochsenbein: 10th in 100 breaststroke (52.60), 11th in 200 breaststroke (1:54.76)
- Jan Zubik: 15th in the 100 butterfly (45.99), 7th in the 200 butterfly (1:41.47)
Even if none of the swimmers listed above win an event at the SEC Championships, times will still be crucial for the NCAA Championships.
Time Standards
Any swimmer who reaches the “A” cut time automatically qualifies for the NCAA’s. Another way to qualify is by hitting the “B” cut, but there are some restrictions. The meet is capped at 32 male swimmers and 41 women swimmers per event. Therefore, “A” cuts automatically make the event, while the remaining slots are filled with the fastest “B’ cut qualifiers.
A total of 235 men and 281 women are allowed at the meet, but each team can only take 18 athletes. Last year, the Tigers had 11 representatives.
According to the NCAA, the “A” time is calculated by using the three-year average of the eighth-best time unless the current standard is faster than the average. The “B” time is calculated by using the three-year average of the 125th best time unless the current standard is faster than the average. Times needed to hit are included below.
All relays with an “A” cut time can swim at the Championships as long as they have 1 individual invited to the meet as well. Once a team has a relay invited, they can swim any relay in which they have a provisional standard as well. Teams can take whichever swimmers they want to participate in relays.
Diving Makes a Splash*
(*but not too big, as that’s the opposite of the goal of diving itself)
Mentioned above, diving also plays a crucial role in the final outcome of a meet. The points are distributed the same way for diving placement as they are for the swimming event, with the total points added to the team score.
Fresh off the Air Force Invitational, the Tigers dive crew heads into the SEC’s with major momentum.
Missouri won five out of six events at the invite, with Collier Dyer notching gold in the 1 and 3-meter.
Coach Grevers mentioned his divers have been a fundamental aspect of success this season.
“They have been a staple for the program all season long. Even in dual meets if we’re trying to keep an eye on scores, we know diving is going to lift us up and maybe help put us over the edge for the victories, he said.”
“It’s a big deal. When you’re talking about the SEC, every single event matters. Every team knows how to step up in big events. And I suspect diving is going to make some noise there and get us some “A’ finals at that big meet,” he added.
Talent both in the pool and on the boards will make great competition among the beasts of the conference.
Fine-Tuning
As the team prepares for the meet, they plan to rely on those fine details that put them above competition, rather than trying to single out certain events to podium in.
“As a program, we’ve decided not to necessarily focus on a final outcome because there’s so much that’s outside of our control in that scenario,” Grevers said. “So, as we put our energy and effort into focusing on things we can control. We want to get our hand on the wall in these close races. You know, touch out the competition every time we’re in a close race, right? We want to, ideally, squeak into the bottom of the heat, the bottom “A” final, the bottom of the “B” final, the bottom “C” final, trying to avoid being ninth place and 17th place and 25th place, right? Those are the first person out of that ideal scenario. We’ve really focused on all the small details that give us an edge over the competitors who are not necessarily as focused on the things they can control.”
The SEC Championships begin Tuesday, Feb. 18, and will conclude on Saturday, Feb. 22.
The Tigers have never won the competition. Since Mizzou became members of the conference, the Florida men have owned the meet, walking away with each title since the 2012-2013 season.
The Florida women have also won the competition the last two years; however, four other other programs have taken the crown since the 2014-15 season.
Last year, the Gators reached a dynasty level as they became the first school since Auburn in the 2007-08 season to win the competition on both the men and women’s side.