Top 10 Cardinals topple Tigers in first dual of 2025

Competing through a tough training cycle, the Tigers put together some nice swims.

The top-10 ranked Louisville Cardinals (no. 8 women, no. 10 men) defeated the Missouri Tigers by a score of 204-95 (Women) and 193-107 (Men) on Friday. It was a valiant effort by the Tigers but ultimately the Cardinals showed too much strength and speed to be toppled.

Let’s check in on my preview and predictions and see where the Tigers ended up, shall we?

---

Check In Time!

As predicted, it was a rough going for Missouri, but they managed to scrap away at some points when comparing last year’s contest to this year. In 2023-24, 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.

This year, the Cardinal men won 193-107 and the women won 204-95. Similarly, Collier Dyer led the divers, but the team was able to gather more than two top finishes this time around. Progress!

Let’s start with where I went wrong:

MY PREDICTION: 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.

The 1000 free was actually a very bright spot for the black & gold, as Zoe Schneider swam a lifetime best of 9:50.49 to take the top spot and move up to 4th all-time in the Mizzou record books.

She was followed by Katie Gresik with a 10:00.43, securing a double podium and more points for the team. While Gresik didn’t come close to her entry time of 9:50.05, it didn’t matter, as it’s all about accumulating the most points possible. And accumulate points they did. Danielle Gleason added a fourth place finish and sits 5th all-time, and Mizzou racked up 15 points in just one event. And while she didn’t add any points in the event, Chloe Madadu hit a season best by over seven seconds when she swam a 10:08.66.

My fear for this event stemmed from the faster times I discovered in my research of the Cardinals. However, Louisville only had two entrants in the event for this meet, and they weren’t the swimmers I expected.

But points are points, so we’ll take it.

Not only did the women dominate the event, but so did the men.

With a time of 9:14.94 lifetime best, Jibran Himsieh secured gold in the men’s race, moving him to 7th all-time in the event. Conner Boatright also had a lifetime best of 9:25.00, which was good enough for fourth place. And while they didn’t score any points, Thomas Joswiak and Trey Cunneen both swam season bests by massive amounts (12 and 23 seconds, respectively).

---

Now, how about the fun part…the stuff I got right! (We’re going to break this down for each stroke)

Backstroke

MY PREDICTION: 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.

With a time of 45.86, Grant Bochenski secured another win the 100 back, leaving him undefeated in the event at home. The Tigers managed to also score one additional points in the event thanks to a sixth place finish from Griffin Craig.

In the 200, Philipp Peschke scored three points and a third place finish with a lifetime best of 1:47.80, and Craig’s sixth place finish secured another much needed point.

Maeve DeYoung and Colleen Duffy secured fourth and fifth place finishes in the 100 and 200 back on the women’s side. Abbey Taute added a second place finish in the 200, bringing her undefeated dual meet streak to an end.

Noticeably missing from this meet was Tiger backstroker Sydney Bales, but when comparing her season bests to how the meet was scored, she would have fallen in line with what DeYoung accomplished.

Freestyle

MY PREDICTION: In freestyle, freshman Luke Nebrich holds the edge in the 50 with a time of 19.52.

Had Nebrich been able to replicate that 19.52 from the UGA Invite, he would’ve won the event. However, he had to settle for a runner-up finish, finishing with a 20.00. A tie from Darden Tate and Francois Malherbe in sixth place allowed for an additional point (0.5 points apiece).

The only other freestyle event the Missouri men won was the 200 Free Relay. The team, comprised of Grant Bochenski, Luke Nebrich, Francois Malherbe and Darden Tate, came away with 11 points and an improved time of 1:18.40. Other point scorers on the men’s side in freestyle were Grant Bochenski, who was third in the 100, Phillip Peschke, who was fourth in the 200

On the women’s side, the Tigers secured points from Sierra Smith in the 50 (4th place, 2pts) and 100 (6th place, 1 pt), Zara Zallen (2nd place in the 200 with a lifetime best 1:46.02, 4 pts / 3rd place in the 100, 3 pts), and 3rd and 4th place finishes from Chloe Madadu and Danielle Gleason in the 500.

Jasmine Nicols, while she didn’t add any points, swam a season best 52.68 in the 100, and Peyton Drexler added a season best 1:50.02 in the 200.

Butterfly

MY PREDICTION: Look for another big win from Zubik.

Jan Zubik is perhaps one of the most consistent swimmers on this Missouri team and his speed speaks for itself. Zubik’s time of 1:42.65 secured gold in the 200 butterfly and he also took second in the shorter distance. While not scoring any points, Francois Malherbe swam a season best in the 100, while Matthew Mortenson and Matthew Ross swam season bests in the fly. To the best of our knowledge, Mortenson’s was also a lifetime best by 1.3 seconds.

Similar to last year, the Tigers swept the event, taking both men’s and women’s titles.

Emily Roden also secured gold in the 200 with a time of 1:57.95. After a season full of injuries, it was her first time back swimming this event. She also recorded a season best of 54.25 in the 100, dropping 0.25.

Per MUTIgers.com, Mizzou head coach Andrew Grevers was impressed with Roden’s performance. He said, “Emily Roden’s performance in the 200 fly… she’s battled some big-time injuries and was sidelined for a while, so for her to come back today and win that event after not swimming that race all season long was a huge statement.”

While she didn’t score any points, Peyton Drexler tied her lifetime best of 2:03.83 in the 200 fly.

(Karen’s note: the 2Fly is so, so, so hard. I commend these people on finishing this race, let alone scoring points or getting best times.)

Breaststroke

There were no flat-out wins for the Tigers in either distance and they seemed a bit off their game here, time-wise. Of course, we also don’t know what kind of training the Tigers are going through presently and what the expectations were for this meet. Regardless, but the Tigers still had some podium finishes despite recording no lifetime or season bests. In the 100, Lina Bank finished second (and was closest to her season best), while Holley Dennis finished fifth. In the 200, Bank was fourth, while Dennis was again fifth.

On the men’s side, Alex Oschenbein finished second while Logan Ottke finished fourth in the 100. In the 200, Oschenbein was fourth while Matthew Mortenson was fifth.

Diving

MY PREDICTION: Missouri may have a slight advantage on the diving side.

After a spectacular performance at the USA Diving Winter Nationals in early December, Collier Dyer continued his ascent, this time against Louisville.

In the 3-meter springboard, Dyer scored a 375.60 which was good enough for first, and he set a new season best on platform with 383.03, securing him a second win.

Deacon Colbert also earned his first career podium with a second place finish in platform. The freshman earned a new best score of 335.63.

On the women’s side, Gabriela San Juan Carmona won 3-meter springboard with a score of 301.28, and also picked up points from Megan Jolly, who hit a 209.48 season best in platform.

Final Thoughts

While the loss wasn’t the result the Tigers wanted, they still walked away with a handful of new season and lifetime bests, and per MUTigers, Coach Grevers was happy with how his teams competed.

“We definitely had some great moments,” he said. “Grant Bochenski’s 100 back was good, and Zoe Schneider winning the 1000 was a great win for her. Jan Zubik’s 200 fly was big,.. I’m very proud of the Tigers and their resilience after some very challenging training over the last month and a half, and today certainly sets us up on a great trajectory for the end of the season.”

Coming Up

The Tigers will have a two week break before hosting both Missouri State and McKendree on January 17-18th at Mizzou Aquatic Center. Our swim staff (Karen and/or Rory) should be on hand to catch the action live. Graduating seniors will be honored pre-meet.

The Tigers have beaten Missouri State dating back at least ten years. They have not faced McKendree, a Division II school, since the 2021-22 season where they swept the Bearcats.