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June 10, 2008

Two Miner swimmers named to Academic All-America team

Two members of the Missouri S&T swimming team have landed on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team for the 2007-08 season.

Seniors Mark Chamberlain and David Calcara, who were named last month to the academic all-district team, were both selected to the at-large All-America squad, which encompasses all sports that do not have a team of its own. Chamberlain was a first-team selection to the team while Calcara was named to the second team.

Chamberlain and Calcara both earned All-America honors in the pool during the season to help the Miners finish as the national runner-up at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships.

Chamberlain, who is from Lake Jackson, Texas, posted individual times of 21.00 in the 50-yard freestyle, 47.10 in the 100-free, 50.88 in the 100-butterfly and was part of four relays teams that had seasonal bests during the 2008 season. At this year's national meet, he earned four All-America awards to give him 15 for his career

An applied mathematics major who has been named to three all-academic teams by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America and New South Intercollegiate Swimming Conference, Chamberlain earned his four All-America awards as part of relay teams in the 200- and 400-medley relays as well as the 200- and 400-yard freestyle.

Calcara, who is majoring in biological sciences, recorded times of 57.14 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke and 2:03.04 in the 200-breaststroke to earn All-America honors in those events at the 2008 NCAA meet. He was seventh in the 200-breaststroke after taking 12th in the 100-breaststroke.

A native of Olympia, Wash., Calcara earned two All-America awards in his junior year and has also earned all-academic honors from the NSISC.

Chamberlain and Calcara were among eight NCAA Division II student-athletes named to the Academic All-America squad from the college division out of a total of 44 on the three teams.

May 24, 2008

Pair of S&T swimmers named to academic all-district team

Two members of the Missouri S&T swimming team have been named to the ESPN The Magazine academic all-district team for the 2007-08 season as first team selections, making both eligible for Academic All-America honors for their performance both on the field and in the classroom.

Seniors David Calcara and Mark Chamberlain were both selected to the at-large squad, which encompasses all sports that do not have a team of its own. Both earned All-America honors in the pool during the season to help the Miners finish as the national runner-up at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships.

Chamberlain, who is from Lake Jackson, Texas, posted individual times of 21.00 in the 50-yard freestyle, 47.10 in the 100-free, 50.88 in the 100-butterfly and was part of four relays teams that had seasonal bests during the 2008 season. At this year's national meet, he earned four All-America awards to give him 15 for his career

An applied mathematics major who has been named to three all-academic teams by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America and New South Intercollegiate Swimming Conference, Chamberlain earned his four All-America awards as part of relay teams in the 200- and 400-medley relays as well as the 200- and 400-yard freestyle.

Calcara, who is majoring in biological sciences, recorded times of 57.14 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke and 2:03.04 in the 200-breaststroke to earn All-America honors in those events at the 2008 NCAA meet. He was seventh in the 200-breaststroke after taking 12th in the 100-breaststroke.

A native of Olympia, Wash., Calcara earned two All-America awards in his junior year and has also earned all-academic honors from the NSISC.

March 16, 2008

S&T's Grooms named as CSCAA national coach of year

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Doug Grooms (right) with S&T director
of athletics Mark Mullin

Missouri S&T swimming coach Doug Grooms, who guided the Miners to a second place finish at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships over the weekend, was named as the College Swimming Coaches Association of America's national "Coach of the Year" for the 2007-08 season.

Grooms led the Miners to the highest team finish for any athletic team in the history of the program, as they finished behind only Drury at the national meet in Columbia, Mo. During the course of the meet, 12 of the 13 S&T swimmers at the meet earned All-America honors.

"Any time you win an award like that, it is an incredible feeling," Grooms said. "To be able to win such an award is due to the fact that the swimmers competed exceptionally well. The success they had put me in a position to win this honor and they deserve the credit."

The 12 swimmers earned a total of 33 All-America awards, seven honorable mention citatons and set nine school records during the course of the weekend.

In 10 years as the Miners' head coach, Grooms has led the Miners to a top 10 finish at the NCAA Division II Championships nine times; Missouri S&T finished fourth last season prior to this year's second place finish. He was an assistant coach in the program for six seasons prior to taking over as head coach and during that time, the Miners had finishes of eighth and third in the nation, the latter coming in 1998 which stood as the best team performance for S&T until this season.

March 15, 2008

#2 IN THE NATION! Miners ascend to second at NCAA Swimming Championships

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The Miners receive their second place
trophy at the NCAA Championships

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- During each day of the NCAA Division II Championships, the Missouri S&T swimming team kept moving up in the team standings, from sixth to fifth and then fourth heading into the final day.

On Saturday, the Miners jumped two more spots in the team standings to land the highest finish ever for a Miner athletic team at a national competition, as Missouri S&T took second place at the meet that concluded Saturday night.

S&T finished with 336 points in the meet, beating out third place West Chester by nearly 20 points to finish one spot higher than the previous best which came in 1998. Drury won the team competition with 523.5 points.

"We knew going in that our best days were going to be in the back half of the meet," said Miner head coach Doug Grooms. "We just had to stay patient. We were swimming extremely well and just had to stay with it.

"Our team went from sixth to fifth to fourth and we knew our last day was our strongest," Grooms added. "After we started out with two of the nine fastest swims in the 50-freestyle, the kids just fed off each other and followed suit."

The Miners' performance at the national meet helped earn Grooms the national coach of the year award from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America.

The Miners got a second place finish from freshman Zlatan Hamzic in the 200-yard breaststroke with a school record time of 1:58.55, as he finished second to Seattle's Jakub Jiracek who won his NCAA Division II record 11th national championship.

S&T also got fifth place finishes Saturday from Matt Hug in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 15:38.92 and David Sanchez-Turner in the 100-yard freestyle in 44.90 seconds, while getting a sixth from Jeff Enge in the 200-yard backstroke.

Enge, Kyle Kammer and Aaron Schmidt, who set the school record in the 200-backstroke at 1:49.54 in the preliminaries, all finished among the top eight in the event with time under 1:50; no Miner had cleared that mark prior to Saturday.

Kammer was seventh in the finals in 1:49.72 and Schmidt eighth in 1:49.93.

Andrew Trowbridge also landed All-America honors in the 1,650-freestyle with his mark of 15:45.39, while David Calcara also had a seventh place finish in the 200-breaststroke with a time of 2:04.31 and Kyle Gordon also scored in the consolation finals of the 100-freestyle.

The Miners' 400-yard freestyle relay team of Gordon, Mark Chamberlain, Hug and Sanchez-Turner took eighth place with a time of 3:03.90 after it went 3:02.30.

In all, the MIners set nine school records during the course of the national meet held at the Mizzou Aquatics Center and earned 40 All-America awards, including 33 finishes among the top eight.

March 14, 2008

Miners bump up to fourth at NCAA Swim Championships

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Zlatan Hamzic

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The MIner swimming team moved up one spot in the team standings Friday to fourth place thanks to a third place finish by freshman Zlatan Hamzic and a fourth place effort by their 800-yard freestyle relay team.

Hamzic finished within a second of the national title in the 100-yard breaststroke as he recorded a time of 55.50 seconds in the event; the winning mark was 54.74 by Wayne State's Christer Tour.

The relay team of David Sanchez-Turner, Mark Chamberlain, Kyle Gordon and Matt Hug had a time of 6:43.51 to finish fourth in the race and hold off North Dakota, whom it leads by five points in the team standings heading into the final day.

Hug also earned All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the 500-yard freesyle as he posted a time of 4:30.60 in the finals. Earlier in the day, Hug broke the school record in the event with a mark of 4:27.87 which was the best time in the preliminary session.

Incarnate Word's Aliaksandr Yatsko won the event in 4:25.84.

The Miners got honorable mention All-America performances from Andrew Trowbridge in the 500-freestyle with a 14th place finish in 4:34.13 and from David Calcara in the 100-breaststroke as he took 12th in 57.18 seconds.

Danny Murphy swam a seasonal-best 4:37.72 in the 500-free but narrowly missed qualifying for competition Friday night.

Friday's results

March 13, 2008

S&T now fifth at NCAA meet; oldest swimming record falls

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Miner swimming team moved up one spot in the team standings Thursday night at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships and also saw its longest standing swimming record fall during the course of the night.

Freshman Danny Murphy broke a record that had stood for 22 years in the S&T books in the finals of the 400-yard individual medley as he recorded a time of 4:00.68. Murphy’s performance, which broke Derek Coon’s record of 4:00.85 that had stood since 1986, was good for seventh place in the final standings.

S&T’s best finish Thursday came from its 400-yard medley relay team of Kyle Kammer, Zlatan Hamzic, Paul Reinisch and David Sanchez-Turner with a time of 3:21.41 to earn All-America status for the group.

The Miners also got an All-America showing from Matt Hug in the 200-yard freestyle Thursday as he finished eighth in a time of 1:40.77; Sanchez-Turner placed 12th in that event for honorable mention All-America as he recorded a time of 1:40.43 in the evening session after posting a personal-best mark of 1:39.93 in the preliminaries.

Jeff Enge finished a close second – by .08 seconds – in the consolation 400-IM to Minnesota State’s Marty Wahle to earn honorable mention All-America in that event. Enge finished the consolation final in 4:01.09.

The Miners opened the night with a seventh place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay, as the team of Kyle Gordon, David Sanchez-Turner, Matt Hug and Mark Chamberlain landed All-America honors by posting a seasonal-best time of 1:22.80.

S&T is currently fifth in the team standings, with Drury well out in front of the pack with 233 points. North Dakota is currently second, followed by West Chester and Ouachita Baptist.

Thursday's final results

March 12, 2008

Miners break two marks, stand sixth after first day of NCAA meet

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Kyle Kammer

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri S&T swimming team finds itself in sixth place in the team standings after a record-breaking first day of competition at the NCAA Division II Championships at the University of Missouri

The Miners saw two of their school records go down Wednesday, as the 200-yard medley relay team of Kyle Kammer, Zlatan Hamzic, Mark Chamberlain and David Sanchez-Turner broke the six-year-old record in the event during the preliminary session and Matt Hug shattered his own mark in the 1,000-freestyle to open the evening festivities.

Hug broke the school record in the 1,000 by eight seconds with a time of 9:18.55, moving past two competitors in his heat of the race over the final 200 yards to post his highest career finish in the event. Previously, Hug had two seventh place finishes and a ninth in the 1,000.

The Miners also had another individual, Andrew Trowbridge, land honorable mention All-America honors in that event with a time of 9:33.17 to take 14th overall in the event.

S&T’s medley relay team posted a time of 1:31.46 during the morning session, then finished fifth in the finals with a mark of 1:31.55.

Freshman Jeff Enge earned a spot in the consolation finals of the 200-yard individual medley with a seasonal-best time of 1:52.88 in the preliminary round, then placed eighth in the evening race in 1:53.67 to earn honorable mention All-America honors.

In all, seven Miners landed All-America awards on the opening day of competition.

Earlier in the day, the Miners got seasonal bests from Kyle Gordon and Mark Chamberlain in the 50-yard freestyle, as Gordon posted a time of 20.94 seconds and Chamberlain a mark of 21 seconds flat. However, neither time was good enough to make the top 16 as the cutoff time was 20.79 seconds.

Paul Reinisch also competed in the 50-free and posted a time of 21.68 seconds.

Wednesday's results

March 06, 2008

Missouri S&T to co-host NCAA-II Swimming Championships next week

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Matt Hug

Missouri S&T will serve as a co-host for the 2008 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships next week in Columbia, Mo., and will be taking 13 of its own swimmers to the four-day meet.

The meet will take place at the three-year-old Mizzou Aquatics Center on the campus of the University of Missouri – the other co-host for the championships – and will run from March 12-15. The men’s and women’s championships will be contested simultaneously over the four days in the first NCAA competition that the university will serve as a host of since the 1996 South Central regional tournament in men’s basketball.

It is the first time that Missouri S&T has been named as the host institution for an NCAA championship event.

During each of the four days, the preliminary rounds will take place during the morning session that will start at 10:30 a.m. each day. The championship and consolation championships will be contested during the evening sessions that begin nightly at 6 p.m., with the exception of the two distance freestyle events and the 800-yard freestyle relay which are timed finals that will take place during both sessions.

The Miner swimming team is hoping to repeat its performance from last season at the national meet where it finished fourth overall. The Miners will have their second-largest contingent of student-athletes in the meet, as 13 individuals will take part in the competition.

Heading the Miners at the meet is senior Matt Hug, who has earned 12 All-America awards at the last three NCAA Division II meets and finished third in two events that he will be competing in next week, the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle.

Of the 13 individuals S&T will have at the meet, nine made the meet by making an automatic cut in an individual event.

S&T has placed among the top 10 at the NCAA Division II Championships in 11 of the last 12 years and had all 12 of its individuals that competed at last year’s meet earn All-America honors.

Besides Missouri S&T, the meet will have a strong regional flavor at the top of the list. Drury University won both the men’s and women’s national championships in 2007 and Drury’s men have won the last three national titles. Meanwhile, teams from the state of Missouri have won 11 straight women’s championships, as Drury’s title in 2007 snapped Truman State’s six-year run as the national champion; Drury won four straight NCAA titles prior to Truman’s streak.

Some of the other top teams at the meet on the men’s side besides Missouri S&T and Drury include Grand Valley State, St. Cloud State and Delta State, whom the Miners beat in a dual meet earlier this season and again at the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships last month. On the women’s side, the top challengers to unseat Drury include South Dakota, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State.

Event Schedule (with Missouri S&T competitors who have qualified to compete in the event)

Wednesday, March 12
1,000-yard freestyle: Matt Hug (Bloomington, Ill.), Andrew Trowbridge (Arlington, Texas)
200-yard individual medley: Jeff Enge (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Memorial)
50-yard freestyle: Kyle Gordon (Superior, Colo./Monarch), David Sanchez-Turner (Madrid, Spain), Paul Reinisch (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette), Mark Chamberlain (Lake Jackson, Texas/Brazoswood)
200-yard medley relay

Thursday, March 13
200-yard freestyle relay
400-yard individual medley: Danny Murphy (Houston, Texas/Cypress Creek), Enge
100-yard butterfly: Kyle Kammer (Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette), Brian Howell (Norman, Okla./North), Chamberlain, Reinisch
200-yard freestyle: Hug, Sanchez-Turner, Gordon
400-yard medley relay:

Friday, March 14
500-yard freestyle: Hug, Trowbridge, Murphy
100-yard backstroke: Aaron Schmidt (O’Fallon, Ill.), Kammer, Howell
100-yard breaststroke: Zlatan Hamzic (Panceva, Serbia), David Calcara (Olympia, Wash./Capitol)
200-yard butterfly: Howell
800-yard freestyle relay

Saturday, March 15
1,650-yard freestyle: Hug, Trowbridge
100-yard freestyle: Sanchez-Turner, Gordon
200-yard backstroke: Kammer, Schmidt, Enge
200-yard breaststroke: Hamzic, Calcara
400-yard freestyle relay

February 22, 2008

Seven Miners earn All-NSISC honors; Grooms named as top coach

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Missouri S&T Swimmers: 2007-08 NSISC Champions

The Missouri S&T swimming team had seven individuals named to the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships and also had its head coach named as the "Coach of the Year" after the Miners won the NSISC meet last weekend.

Head coach Doug Grooms was named as the top coach after leading the Miners to the team title by nearly 100 points over Ouachita Baptist. The individuals who earned the all-conference honors included Zach Lemons, Dustin Spieker, Matt Hug, Andrew Trowbridge, Kyle Gordon, David-Sanchez Turner and Jeff Enge.

Hug and Gordon won conference titles at the meet, as Hug took the title in the 500-yard freestyle and Gordon captured the title in the 200-yard freestyle where he edged out Sanchez-Turner in the finals.

The Miners also had a number of individuals earn academic all-conference honors. Those named were Mitch Berggren, David Calcara, Mark Chamberlain, Jeff Enge, Zlatan Hamzic, Austin Kelley, Zach Lemons, Paul Reinisch, Dustin Spieker, Rory Swift and Andrew Trowbridge.

Missouri S&T will be sending 13 individuals to Columbia, Mo., in March for the NCAA Division II Championships.

February 16, 2008

Repeat: Missouri S&T swimmers take NSISC title

CLEVELAND, Miss. -- The Missouri S&T swimming team wrapped up their second straight New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships title Saturday night, getting several high finishes and another national qualifier to win the team title by nearly 100 points.

Although the Miners didn't win any of the races Saturday, they did post three second place finishes and five thirds and finished the meet with 830 1/2 points, well ahead of the 733 posted by Ouachita Baptist.

One of the runner-up finishes came from freshman Aaron Schmidt in the 200-yard backstroke as he posted a time of 1:51.55 in the finals. Earlier in the day, Schmidt reached the finals with a time of 1:50.68 to become the 13th member of the team that will head to Columbia, Mo., next month for the NCAA Division II Championships.

Schmidt was one of four Miners to finish among the top seven in the 200-backstroke, as Jeff Enge was third in 1:52.62, Kyle Kammer was fifth in 1:54.74 and Rory Swift placed seventh in 1:56.61.

The Miners also got a second place effort from Zlatan Hamzic in the 200-yard breaststroke with an impressive time of 2:04.92 -- which fell under the automatic mark in that event -- and Andrew Trowbridge in the 1,650-freestyle in 15:53.41.

Matt Hug took third in the 1,650-free in 16:04.12 and Danny Murphy was seventh in that event in 16:32.73. In the 200-breaststroke, David Calcara finished fourth in 2:07.49 and Mitch Berggren was eighth in 2:11.83.

The Miners' other third place finishes on an individual basis Saturday came from David Sanchez-Turner in the 100-yard freestyle in 46.18 seconds and Zach Lemons in the 200-butterfly where he posted a time of 1:53.33.

S&T also had a sixth-place finish from Dustin Spieker in the 200-butterfly in 1:55.82, followed by Brian Howell in 1:55.96. In the 100-free, Kyle Gordon took seventh in 47.19 seconds and Mark Chamberlain was eighth in 47.56 seconds.

The Miners also had a third place showing from its 400-yard freestyle relay team of Chamberlain, Gordon, Hug and Sanchez-Turner, with a time of 3:05.60 that fell below the automatic qualifying standard in that event (all four swimmers had already qualified for nationals).

Missouri S&T's next competition will take place at the NCAA Division II Championships, which begins March 12 at the Mizzou Aquatics Center at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Saturday's results

February 15, 2008

Miners push into NSISC lead with strong third night

CLEVELAND, Miss. -- A strong performance on the third night of the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships has pushed the Missouri S&T swimming team into the lead in the competition with one night remaining.

The Miners claimed the top two spots in the 200-yard freestyle and had 12 individuals finish among the top eight in events Friday, as well as seeing its 800-yard freestyle relay team take third and the B-relay in the same event win the consolation race to give S&T a sizeable advantage in the team standings.

Freshman Kyle Gordon won the 200-free by a narrow margin over teammate David Sanchez-Turner, as Gordon finished in 1:43.13 to Sanchez-Turner's 1:43.15. The Miners also got a second place showing from another freshman, Zlatan Hamzic, in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 57.47 seconds.

The Miners went 3-4-5 in the 100-yard backstroke finals Friday, as Aaron Schmidt came in third in 52.22 seconds, Brian Howell in fourth with a mark of 52.45 and Kyle Kammer fifth in 52.68. Rory Swift also won the consolation finals in 53.48 seconds.

In the 400-yard individual medley, Dustin Speiker was one of three Miners to finish among the top eight as his time of 4:05.80 was good for fourth place. Jeff Enge came in fifth in 4:06.63 and Danny Murphy was eighth in 4:09.87. The Miners also got a win in the consolation finals of the event as well as Zach Lemons won that race in a time of 4:05.92.

The other top eight finishes Friday were recorded by Kammer in the 100-butterfly in 51.79 seconds, which put him in seventh place, Mark Chamberlain in that same event in 51.84 and David Calcara in the 100-breaststroke with an eighth place mark of 59.04 seconds.

The team of Enge, Sanchez-Turner, Howell and Matt Hug finished third in the 800-free relay with a time of 6:54.52, while the B-relay group of Andrew Trowbridge, Murphy, Spieker and Chamberlain finished ninth in 7:01.47.

S&T's performance Friday put it 44 points in front of Ouachita Baptist heading into the final day of competition, as the Miners have 555 1/2 points to OBU's 510 1/2. Both teams are over 100 points ahead of third place Delta State.

Friday's results

February 14, 2008

Miner swimming team remains second at NSISC meet

CLEVELAND, Miss. -- The Missouri S&T swimming team is still in second place after the second day of the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships at Delta State University.

The Miners did capture their first individual title of the meet as Matt Hug claimed first in the 500-yard freestyle with a winning time of 4:32.97. S&T also got a third place finish in the event from Andrew Trowbridge in 4:39.82.

Zach Lemons also had a third place finish Thursday in the 200-individual medley with a time of 1:55.92. S&T had three other finishers among the top seven in that event as Jeff Enge was fifth in 1:56.38, Dustin Spieker was sixth in 1:56.89 and Rory Swift took seventh in 1:56.96.

David Sanchez-Turner finished sixth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.52 seocnds, while Mark Chamberlain was seventh in 21.70 and Kyle Gordon eighth in 21.73.

The Miners also had a fourth place finish from their 200-yard freestyle relay team of Gordon, Chamberlain, Sanchez-Turner and Hug as they posted a time of 1:25.21. S&T's 400-medley relay team took ninth as the quartet of Enge, David Calcara, Lemons and Hug posted a mark of 3:27.75.

The Miners are currently 23 points in back of Ouachita Baptist in the team standings, but have put some room between themselves and third place Delta State as they have a 53 1/2 point lead over the Statesmen at the midway point of the meet.

The meet continues Friday.

Thursday's results

February 13, 2008

Miners sit second after day one, add 12th NCAA qualifier

CLEVELAND, Miss. -- The Missouri S&T swimming team sits in second place after the first day of the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships at Delta State University, getting a strong effort from its distance freestyle competitors on the opening night.

S&T currently sits five points behind Ouachita Baptist in the team standings, due to a disqualification of a Miner relay team in the 200-yard medley relay. The Miners have 81 points to OBU's 86 after day one, with Truman State sitting in third place with 77.

But the bigger news of the night for the Miners came when junior Brian Howell made the automatic qualifying time in the 200-yard butterfly, posting a time of 1:52.72 in a time trial to give S&T its 12th national qualifier for next month's NCAA Division II Championships. The Miners had three others taking part in time trials Wednesday, but none of them could post a time under the standard needed to qualify for the national meet.

In the lone individual event that was contested Thursday, the 1,000-yard freestyle, the Miners got a second place finish from Andrew Trowbridge, a third from Matt Hug and a fifth place showing from Danny Murphy.

Trowbridge posted a time of 9:33.21 in the event while Hug finished in 9:44.43 and Murphy in 9:50.81. Aaron Schmidt also scored for S&T in the event by placing 11th in 10:01.95.

In the 200-yard medley relay, the Miner team of Kyle Kammer, Zlatan Hamzic, Paul Reinisch and David Sanchez-Turner finished fifth with a time of 1:35.26. However, the Miners' B-relay in that event was disqualified and Ouachita Baptist's team, which won the race, picked up 18 points on the Miners as a result.

The meet will continue through Saturday.

Wednesday's results

January 25, 2008

Miner swimmers end home season on winning note

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Matt Hug

The Miner swimming team wrapped up its home schedule Friday night with a convincing 133-72 win over Truman State at the Missouri S&T Pool, winning 10 of the 11 events on the evening.

The Miners won both relay events (the second was an exhibition), with the team of Kyle Kammer, Mark Chamberlain, David Calcara and Kyle Gordon taking the 400-yard medley relay in 3:29.69 and the 400-freestyle relay group of Gordon, David Sanchez-Turner, Chamberlain and Matt Hug posting the best time in that event of 3:09.41.

Hug won two events on an individual basis, taking the 200-yard freestyle in 1:42.73 and adding a win in the 500-freestyle later in the evening in 4:40.61.

The Miners also got first place finishes from Andrew Trowbridge in the 1,000-freestyle in 9:41.97, Gordon in the 50-freestyle in 21.92 seconds, Jeff Enge in the 200-individual medley in 1:57.08, Dustin Spieker in the 200-butterfly in 1:56.06, Kammer in the 200-backstroke in 1:55.75 and Zlatan Hamzic in the 200-breaststroke in 2:07.67.

Second place efforts came from Danny Murphy in the 1,000 in 9:48.73, Sanchez-Turner in the 200-free in 1:46.61, Zach Lemons in the 200-IM in 1:59.20, Chamberlain in the 100-freestyle in 48.15, Aaron Schmidt in the 200-backstroke in 1:59.97, Trowbridge in the 500-free in 4:45.86 and Calcara in the 200-breaststroke in 2:09.92.

Murphy took third in the 200-IM in 1:59.61 to help the Miners sweep the top three spots in that event, while Lemons (2:00.02 in the 200-butterfly), Sanchez-Turner (48.25 in the 100-freestyle) and Enge (4:47.46 in the 500-free) also recorded third place efforts.

The meet was the final home meet for five Miner seniors -- Calcara, Chamberlain, Hug, Spieker and Rory Swift, who had a fourth place showing in the 200-backstroke Friday.

S&T's next competition will be in the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships which begins Feb. 13 at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss.

January 20, 2008

Miners capture title of Washington University Invitational

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Missouri S&T swimming team completed a solid two-day showing Saturday by winning the Washington University Invitational by 120 points over its nearest competitor.

The Miners opened the day Saturday with a victory in the 400-yard medley relay as the team of Kyle Kammer, David Calcara, Mark Chamberlain and Kyle Gordon won the race in 3:33.08. S&T then got individual victories later in the session from Andrew Trowbridge in the 1,650-yard freestyle in 15:57.91 and Zlatan Hamzic in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:09.09.

Trowbridge’s mark made the NCAA Division II automatic qualifying standard in the 1,650-freestyle.

The winners in Friday’s competition included Jeff Enge in the 200-yard individual medley in a time of 1:58.25, Matt Hug in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:39.32 and Calcara in the 100-breaststroke in 1:00.15.

Zlatan Hamzic had a second place showing in the 100-breaststroke in 1:00.16, along with Enge in the 200-backstroke in 1:56.67 and 400-IM in 4:12.13, Dustin Spieker in the 200-butterfly in 1:58.58, Hug in the 1,650-free in 16:19.18, Calcara in the 200-breaststroke in 2:10.97 and Kammer in the 100-backstroke in 54.73 seconds.

Danny Murphy finished third in the 200-IM in 1:59.35 and 400-IM in 4:13.18 as did Trowbridge in the 500-freestyle in 4:41.17, Kammer in the 200-backstroke in 1:57.10 and 100-butterfly in 52.81 and Brian Howell in the 200-butterfly in 1:59.17.

Zach Lemons took fourth in both individual medley events, posting a time of 1:59.92 in the 200 and 4:15.86 in the 400 to go along with a fourth-place showing in the 200-butterfly in 1:59.42.

Murphy took fourth in the 1,650-freestyle in 16:37.31 as did David Sanchez-Turner in the 200-freestyle in 1:48.89 and Chamberlain in the 100-butterfly in 53.29, while fifth place finishes were recorded by Howell in the 200-IM in 2:01.02, Hug in the 400-IM in 4:15.91, Aaron Schmidt in the 100-backstroke in 56.15 seconds, Mitch Berggren in the 200-breaststroke in 2:17.18 and Gordon in the 50-yard freestyle in 22.20 and 100-freestyle in 48.46 seconds.

The Miners had second place showings from both of their relay teams Friday, as the 200-yard medley relay team of Kammer, Hamzic, Chamberlain and Sanchez-Turner took second in a time of 1:37.37 and the 800-yard freestyle relay team of Murphy, Enge, Gordon and Hug finished as the runner-up in a time of 7:05.90.

S&T's 200-freestyle relay team of Gordon, Paul Reinisch, Sanchez-Turner and Chamberlain also placed second in 1:26.73 while the 400-freestyle relay group of Gordon, Enge, Sanchez-Turner and Hug was third in 3:14.68.

Missouri S&T scored 920 points in the meet, beating DePauw by 120 points for the title.

The MIners' next action takes place Friday when they host Truman State in a dual meet at 6 p.m. at the UMR Pool.

Friday’s results

January 09, 2008

Swimmers face Division I opponent in Hawaii

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- The Miner swimming team took part in a relay meet Tuesday with the University of the Pacific as part of their holiday break trip to Hawaii, dropping the six-event meet to the NCAA Division I school by the score of 33-21.

The Miners had a winning performance from their 200-yard freestyle relay team of Kyle Gordon, Mark Chamberlain, David Sanchez-Turner and Matt Hug with a time of 1:27.34, while finishing second in the other four relays that were contested.

S&T's top 200-medley relay team of Kyle Kammer, Zlatan Hamzic, Mark Chamberlain and Sanchez-Turner had a time of 1:38.06, while the 200-butterfly relay team of Brian Howell, Paul Reinisch, Chamberlain and Gordon posted a mark of 1:38.30, the 200-backstroke relay quartet of Aaron Schmidt, Kammer, Jeff Enge and Howell finished in 1:41.13 and the 200-breaststroke relay squad of Hamzic, David Calcara, Mitch Berggren and Sanchez-Turner had a mark of 1:54.48.

In the one individual event that was contested, the 100-yard individual medley, Enge finished second with a time of 56.50 seconds, while Zach Lemons was third in 56.70, Danny Murphy sixth in 59.01 and Matt Hug seventh in 59.10.

S&T returns to regular meet competition Jan. 18 and 19 at the Washington University Invitational in St. Louis.

December 01, 2007

Miners win UALR Invitational, qualify 11 for nationals

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The UMR swimming team got an 11th national qualifier Saturday for the NCAA Division II Championships in the process of winning the Arkansas-Little Rock Invitational.

Two winning performances Saturday night, including a victory in the final event of the night, the 400-yard freestyle relay, allowed the Miners to finish 47 points ahead of defending national champion Drury in the two-day meet. UMR posted a total of 638 points to Drury's 591. Missouri State finished third with 558 points and Western Kentucky, who beat the Miners in a meet two weeks ago, finished fourth.

The Miners' 11th national qualifier was David Calcara, who earned a berth in the 200-yard breaststroke. Calcara's time of 2:04.92 in the preliminaries earned him the spot along with the 10 who had qualified on Friday for the national meet that starts March 12 in Columbia, Mo. The junior finished third in the finals of the 200-breaststroke behind teammate Zlatan Hamzic, who had a school record time of 2:03.70.

Matt Hug earned a victory in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:39.98 Saturday night, a time that fell under the automatic mark in the event. David Sanchez-Turner took third in 1:43.15 after a 1:42.35 in the preliminary round and Kyle Gordon came in seventh in 1:45.54.

UMR also had a winning effort from its 400-yard freestyle relay team of Mark Chamberlain, Sanchez-Turner, Gordon and Hug with a time of 3:03.61.

Kyle Kammer recorded a second place finish in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 51.45 in the finals, while Jeff Enge finished third in the 200-yard individual medley in 1:54.28.

Sanchez-Turner took fourth and Gordon finished fifth in the 100-freestyle, with Sanchez-Turner posting a time of 46.21 in the finals and Gordon a mark of 46.51.

The Miners also saw their 200-medley relay team finish under the qualifying standard as Kammer, Hamzic, Chamberlain and Gordon posted a time of 1:33.07 to finish fourth. Brian Howell was sixth in the 200-yard butterfly in 1:54.92.

Miners qualify 10 on opening day in Little Rock

On Friday, the Miners got 10 of their individuals qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships in the opening sessions of the invitational.

Friday’s performances were highlighted by a victory in the 100-yard breaststroke by freshman Hamzic, who won the event in a time of 56.76 seconds. Earlier in the day, Hamzic made his automatic qualifying time with a mark of 56.68 in the event.

UMR also got a second place showing from Hug in the 500-freestyle in 4:31.12 to earn him a berth to the national meet, while Danny Murphy, and Kammer also earned automatic spots and had third place showings in their respective events.

Murphy took third in the 400-yard individual medley in 4:05.10, but his preliminary time of 4:01.86 was well below the standard for nationals.

Kammer reached his automatic time in the preliminaries as well as he posted a school record mark of 1:50.43 in the 200-yard backstroke before taking third in the finals. Enge also made the national meet with his time of 1:51.55, just clearing the standard by 0.04 seconds.

The Miners got an automatic qualifying time from all three of its relay teams that competed Friday. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Gordon, Chamberlain, Sanchez-Turner and Hug, as they recorded a time of 1:23.32 to finish second in the event, while the 800-free quartet of Murphy, Gordon, Andrew Trowbridge and Hug recorded a time of 6:51.31 to make the automatic cut and finish third in the race.

UMR’s 400-yard medley relay team of Kammer, Hamzic, Paul Reinisch and Sanchez-Turner also reached the qualifying standard with a time of 3:24.55 to finish sixth in the race.

Among the other top finishers for the Miners Friday were Gordon, who was third in the 50-freestyle, Enge (sixth in the 400-individual medley), Sanchez-Turner (sixth in the 50-freestyle), David Calcara (sixth in the 100-breaststroke), Trowbridge (seventh in the 500-free), Chamberlain (seventh in the 100-butterfly) and Reinisch (eighth in the 100-butterfly). Zach Lemons also finished eighth in the 400-IM.

Complete results from UALR Christmas Invitational

November 18, 2007

UMR swimmers place second at Western Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The UMR swimming team finished in second place over the weekend in the Western Kentucky Invitational, its last meet prior to the holiday break.

The Miners scored 555 points in the three-day meet that was won by the host school. UMR had a sizeable lead of over 150 points over third place Evansville.

In Sunday's competition, Matt Hug just missed the automatic qualifying mark in the 1,650-yard freestyle, finishing with a time of 16:01.62 to place second. The time was 1.03 seconds off the automatic mark for the NCAA Division II Championships.

However, Hug did lead off the Miners' winning performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as he joined David Sanchez-Turner, Kyle Gordon and Mark Chamberlain to post a time of 3:08.41 to beat out the Western Kentucky squad by over a second.

David Calcara also had a second place finish Sunday in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:09.07, just ahead of teammate Zlatan Hamzic's time of 2:09.08.

Kyle Kammer made a B-cut time in the 200-yard backstroke of 1:54.74 in the finals to end up fourth, while Andrew Trowbridge was fourth in the 1,650 with a time of 16:07.89 as was Zach Lemons in the 200-butterfly in 1:57.29.

Fifth place finishes were recorded by Jeff Enge in the 200-backstroke in 1:55.79, Mitchell Berggren in the 200-breaststroke in 2:14.76 and Gordon in the 100-freestyle in 48.21 seconds, while Danny Murphy was sixth in the 1,650-free in 16:49.06 as was Chamberlain in the 100-free in 48.76.

UMR's highest finish Saturday came from Calcara, who took second in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 59.26 seconds. Hug had a third place finish in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.27

The Miners had four of the top six finishers in the 400-yard individual medley Saturday, led by Zach Lemons' third place showing in 4:10.55 that made the NCAA's B-cut standard. Enge took fourth in 4:12.79, followed by Danny Murphy in 4:13.22 and Dustin Spieker in 4:16.86.

Hamzic finished fifth in the 100-breaststroke in 1:00.07 as did Kammer in the 100-backstroke in 52.99 seconds, while Trowbridge placed sixth in the 200-freestyle in 1:46.85.

UMR's 200-yard medley relay team of Kammer, Calcara, Chamberlain and Sanchez-Turner placed second in 1:36.31 and the 800-freestyle team of Enge, Murphy, Trowbridge and Hug posted a time of 7:03.23 for a third place finish.

On Friday, Hug took second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:39.22, which cleared the B-standard for the NCAA Division II championships. Trowbridge was third in the 500-free in 4:43.04 that was just barely off the mark.

Enge placed fourth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:58.84, while Lemons came in right behind him in fifth in 1:59.11. UMR also got a fifth place showing from Murphy in the 500-freestyle in 4:47.83.

Chamberlain had a time of 21.89 in the preliminary round of the 50-yard freestyle, while Sanchez-Turner had a mark of 22.19 in the early heats as well.

The Miners' 400-yard medley relay team of Kammer, Calcara, Brian Howell and Kyle Gordon finished second with a time of 3:31.46, while the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Gordon, Chamberlain, Sanchez-Turner, Hug finished third with a time of 1:27.52.

UMR's next competition will take place Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at the Arkansas-Little Rock Christmas Invitational.

Final results

November 10, 2007

Swimmers drop dual meet to defending D-II champs

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Miner swimming team dropped a dual meet decision Saturday by a count of 140-90 to defending NCAA Division II champion Drury, but had three of its swimmers make a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Division II Championships.

The Panthers won nine of the 11 events in the meet, with the Miner victories coming from Matt Hug in the 1,000-yard freestyle in a time of 9:33 -- which made the B-cut standard for the NCAA Division II meet -- and Brian Howell in the 200-yard butterfly where he edged DU's Kyle Kearbey by three-hundredths of a second in 1:58.71.

Hug also finished second in the 500-freestyle Saturday with a time of 4:36.06 that made the B-cut time for the national meet.

UMR also had

Andrew Trowbridge did it in the 1,000-freestyle with his mark of 9:47.37 and Jeff Enge in the 400-yard individual medley with his time of 4:11.19.

UMR got second place showings from Kyle Kammer in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:48.61, Kyle Gordon in the 50-yard freestyle in 21.98 and 100-free in 48.92 and Zlatan Hamzic in the 200-breaststroke in 2:09.05.

The Miners' 400-yard medley relay team of Kammer, David Calcara, Paul Reinisch and Gordon also took second in 3:36.55 as did the 400-freestyle relay quartet of Hug, David Sanchez-Turner, Jeff Enge and Mark Chamberlain with a time of 3:15.43.

Andrew Trowbridge had a third in the 500-freestyle in 4:44.90, as did Kammer in the 200-backstroke in 1:56.04, Chamberlain in the 200-free in 1:49.80 and 100-free in 49.35 seconds, Sanchez-Turner in the 50-free in 22.47, Zach Lemons in the 200-butterfly in 1:59.42, Calcara in the 200-breaststroke in 2:10.05 and Enge in the 400-IM.

UMR will compete next weekend at the Western Kentucky Invitational, a three-day meet that begins Friday in Bowling Green, Ky.

October 19, 2007

Hug tops pool mark in 200-free; Miners rout Statesmen

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Matt Hug

Matt Hug broke a record that had stood since the 1980s, highlighting a dominant night for the Miner swimming team in its home opener as UMR routed Delta State by a count of 124-71 at the UMR Pool.

Hug topped the long-standing mark in the 200-yard freestyle, breaking a record that had stood for nearly two decades by three-tenths of a second with a time of 1:42.17. Hug later earned a second victory as he pulled away late in the race from Delta State's Fernando Reis in the 500-yard freestyle for a 14-second win in 4:38.77.

UMR swimmers had the best time in 10 of the 11 events Friday, with Reis being the only DSU swimmer to win a race as he took the 1,000-freestyle. The Miners started the night by winning the 400-yard medley relay as Kyle Kammer, David Calcara, Paul Reinisch and David Sanchez-Turner posted a time of 3:32.89, then Reinisch, Kyle Gordon, Sanchez-Turner and Matt Hug had the best time in the meet-closing 400-freestyle relay of 3:13.54.

Besides Hug's two wins, the Miners got individual victories from Mark Chamberlain in the 50-freestyle in 21.93 seconds, Jeff Enge in the 200-individual medley in 1:57.96, Zach Lemons in the 200-butterfly in 1:59.57, Gordon in the 100-free in 47.98 seconds and Kammer in the 200-backstroke in 1:55.27.

David Calcara also recorded the top time in the 200-breaststroke of 2:08.37.

Second place performances came from Andrew Trowbridge in the 1,000-freestyle in 9:59.06, Gordon in the 200-freestyle in 1:48, Reinisch in the 50-free in 22.44, Brian Howell in the 200-fly in 2:00.42, Chamberlain in the 100-freestyle in 48.72, Enge in the 200-backstroke in 1:56.08 and Zlatan Hamzic with the second-best mark in the 200-breaststroke of 2:11.67.

UMR also had third place showings from Danny Murphy in the 1,000 in 10:03.58 and 500-free in 4:53.06, Mitch Berggren in the 200-freestyle in 1:52.37 and 200-breaststroke in 2:16.45, Dustin Spieker in the 200-IM in 2:02.53, Sanchez-Turner in the 100-freestyle in 49.41 and Aaron Schmidt in the 200-backstroke in 2:00.91.

The Miners will be idle until Nov. 10 when it competes against defending NCAA Division II champion Drury in Springfield, Mo.

October 13, 2007

Miners open swimming season with third place showing at Mizzou

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COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Miner swimming team opened the 2007-08 season Saturday at the same location that it will finish the season in March -- the Mizzou Aquatics Center -- with a third place finish in the Show-Me Showdown at the University of Missouri.

The Miners finished with several individuals among the top 10 in various events throughout the afternoon as they finished ahead of everyone except for the host Tigers and Missouri State.

David Calcara had a strong showing in the 100-breaststroke with a time of 58.66 that won his heat and placed him third in the event and in the 50-breaststroke where he took fourth in 27.51.

Kyle Kammer took fifth in the 100-yard backstroke with a mark of 52.36 seconds as did Matt Hug in the 200-freestyle in 1:42.80 and freshman Zlatan Hamzik in the 100-breaststroke in 59.29.

Hamzik also finished sixth in the 50-breaststroke in 27.64, while Kammer was seventh in the 50-backstroke with a time of 24.79 and Paul Reinisch had a similar finish in the 50-butterfly in 23.94.

UMR also got a tenth place effort from Mitchell Berggren in 50-breaststroke as well with a time of 28.68 while Kyle Gordon, Berggren's high school teammate at Monarch High School in Louisville, Colo., had a mark of 22.24 in the 50-freestyle in his first collegiate meet, just ahead of Reinisch's mark of 22.28.

The Miners had a third-place showing from its 300-yard medley relay team of Kammer, Calcara, Paul Reinisch and Kyle Gordon in 2:33.81 as well as in a 200-yard medley relay with eight competitors in 1:27.29.

UMR's 200-yard freestyle relay team of Mark Chamberlain, Gordon, Hug and David Sanchez-Turner placed fourth with a time of 1:27.02 as did the 400-freestyle relay group of Gordon, Hug, Chamberlain and Sanchez-Turner in 3:15.94.

The Miners will host Delta State Friday at 5 p.m. at the UMR Pool as part of Homecoming weekend on the UMR campus.


Complete results from Missouri

June 15, 2007

Gaul lands second Academic All-America of Year award

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Bill Gaul

For the second consecutive year, Bill Gaul has landed the top award on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team.

Gaul, a senior on the Miner swimming team in the 2006-07 season, was selected as the Academic All-America "Player of the Year" in the at-large category in the College Division on the squad for the second season in succession.

He was a first-team Academic All-America recipient for the second year in a row as well in the program sponsored by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He is one of two UMR swimmers that made this year's Academic All-America team, as fellow senior Andy Shelley was chosen to the third team.

The at-large category covers all sports that do not have a designated team in the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program, which includes sports such as swimming, tennis and wrestling.

Gaul earned All-America honors this season as part of the Miners’ 200-yard medley relay team that finished sixth at the NCAA Division II Championships and earned 11 All-America awards in his four seasons with the Miner program.

He finished among the top 16 in the nation in the two breaststroke events at the national meet in 2006 and was also part of the Miners' 200-yard medley relay team that placed sixth. He was also a 2005 selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team.

Gaul, a native of West Des Moines, Iowa, received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at UMR's May commencement ceremony.

Shelley, who also made the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team in 2005 as a second-team selection, was part of the Miners’ 800-yard freestyle relay team that placed fourth at this year’s national meet. He has earned five All-America awards during his career as a Miner and was a consistent scorer for the Miners at meets throughout the last four seasons.

Shelley, a native of Katy, Texas, also received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the May commencement.

Last month, Gaul and Shelley were named as recipients of NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarships worth $7,500 towards graduate school work. Both individuals were selected to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America’s all-academic team, where the Miners as a team have been the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II throughout that span.

It is the third time in the last four seasons that a UMR swimmer has earned the top academic award on the ESPN The Magazine team. Jack Pennuto was the recipient of the 2004 award before Gaul earned the 2006 and 2007 honors.

June 01, 2007

Three swimmers land on academic all-district team

Three members of the University of Missouri-Rolla swimming team have been named to the academic all-district team for the 2006-07 season, with two of the three being selected to the first team.

Bill Gaul, who was named as the ESPN The Magazine "Academic All-America of the Year" last season, repeated as a first-team selection on the all-district squad and was joined on the first team by Andy Shelley. Travis Stensby, one of the Miners' top scorers at the national meet this season, was a second-team selection.

The at-large category covers all sports that do not have a designated team in the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program, which includes sports such as swimming, tennis and wrestling.

Gaul earned All-America honors this season as part of the Miners’ 200-yard medley relay team that finished sixth at the NCAA Division II Championships and earned 11 All-America awards in his four seasons with the Miner program. He also earned numerous academic honors, including the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America "Player of the Year" award in the at-large category in the College Division for the 2005-06 school year.

He finished among the top 16 in the nation in the two breaststroke events at the national meet in 2006 and was also part of the Miners' 200-yard medley relay team that placed sixth. He was also a 2005 selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team. He is majoring in chemical engineering at UMR.

Shelley, a mechanical engineering major who also made the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team in 2005 as a second-team selection, was part of the Miners’ 800-yard freestyle relay team that placed fourth at this year’s national meet. He has earned five All-America awards during his career as a Miner and was a consistent scorer for the Miners at meets throughout the last four seasons.

Last month, Gaul and Shelley were named as recipients of NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarships worth $7,500 towards graduate school work.

Stensby, who majors in mechanical engineering, finished second in the 100-yard butterfly at the national meet in March and also took third in the 100-yard backstroke. In addition, he earned All-America honors as part of both of UMR’s medley relay teams and honorable mention status in the 200-yard backstroke.

In his three seasons as a Miner after transferring from the University of Minnesota, Stensby won 13 All-America awards and set four individual school records; he is also a member of the record-setting 400-yard medley relay team. He was the recipient of the Gale Bullman Award following the 2006-07 season which is given to the top senior student-athlete in the UMR program.

In addition, he earned five finishes among the top three in his events at the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships which the Miners won as a team. At the NCAA Championships, the Miners finished fourth overall, the second-highest finish ever by a UMR athletic team at a national competition.

All three individuals were selected to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America’s all-academic team, where the Miners as a team have been the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II throughout that span.

May 02, 2007

Two UMR swimmers earn NCAA Post-Graduate scholarships

Two members of the University of Missouri-Rolla swimming team have been named as recipients of post-graduate scholarships awarded by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Bill Gaul (West Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Jesuit) and Andy Shelley (Katy, Texas/Cinco Ranch) was among the 29 men covering all three NCAA divisions for sports that compete in the winter season; each scholarship is worth $7,500.

Gaul earned All-America honors this season as part of the Miners’ 200-yard medley relay team that finished sixth at the NCAA Division II Championships and earned 11 All-America awards in his four seasons with the Miner program. He has also earned numerous academic honors, including being names as the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America "Player of the Year" in the at-large category in the College Division for the 2005-06 school year.

He finished among the top 16 in the nation in the two breaststroke events at the national meet in 2006 and was also part of the Miners' 200-yard medley relay team that placed sixth. He was also a 2005 selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team. He is majoring in chemical engineering at UMR.

Shelley, who also made the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team in 2005 as a second-team selection, was part of the Miners’ 800-yard freestyle relay team that placed fourth at this year’s national meet. He has earned five All-America awards during his career as a Miner and was a consistent scorer for the Miners at meets throughout the last four seasons.

Shelley, a mechanical engineering major, and Gaul have also been selected to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America’s all-academic team, where the Miners as a team have been the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II throughout that span.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent, and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated.

The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.

March 18, 2007

Miners reach highest NCAA mark since '98 by taking fourth

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Matt Hug

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Miner swimming team posted its highest result at a national meet since 1998 by completing a fourth place finish Saturday night at the NCAA Division II Swimming Championships.

Thanks to two All-America efforts and one more school record performance, the Miners finished with a total of 299 points at the national meet to hold off California-San Diego, which ended up with 287. Drury won the national title by a whopping margin, scoring 665.5 points to beat North Dakota (485) and Wayne State (Mich.), who finished with 360 points.

Matt Hug posted his best finish of the national meet Saturday with his third school record performance of the meet, taking third in the 1,650-yard freestyle in a time of 15:38.75. The time broke the mark he set in the event back in December at Arkansas-Little Rock.

In addition, Hug toppled the mark in the 1,000-freestyle during the course of that race by swimming the first 1,000 in 9:26.60; he had set the record on the first day of the national meet.

UMR also got one more All-America performance from a relay team as the 400-yard freestyle relay quartet of Chris Scheuber, Mark Chamberlain, David Sanchez-Turner and Matt Adams finished in seventh place with a time of 3:05.86.

Andrew Trowbridge took 11th in the 1,650-freestyle in 16:16.58 to gain honorable mention All-America status in the meet, as did Travis Stensby in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:52.26. UMR also got a 14th-place showing from Kyle Kammer in that event as he posted a time of 1:52.97

UMR also had two finishers among the top 16 in the 200-yard breaststroke as Matt Hammond came in 11th in 2:06.18 and David Calcara finished 12th in 2:06.97 in the finals.

Over the course of the four-day meet, the Miners established nine new school records, had all 12 of its individuals in the meet earn All-America honors and those 12 earned a total of 37 All-America awards -- including the relays -- of which 17 came on an individual basis.

NCAA Division II Swimming Championship results

March 17, 2007

Miners retain fourth as NCAA meet reaches final day

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Travis Stensby

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Miner swimming team retained its fourth place position in the team standings at the NCAA Division II Swimming Championships while getting all of its participants in the meet to All-America status heading into the final day of competition.

UMR also continued rewriting the record books as it got a pair of third place finishes and a fifth on an individual basis Friday and also received a fourth place showing from its 800-yard freestyle relay team that got Andy Shelley to the All-America level, which gave each of the 12 Miners in Buffalo at least one award for the week.

Travis Stensby, who had a runner-up finish in the 100-yard butterfly on Thursday, took third in the 100-yard backstroke Friday with a time of 50.49. Earlier in the day, he established his second school record showing of the week as he swam a 49.70 in the preliminaries, the best time in the early session.

Matt Hug had the other third place showing Friday and it came after he had the top mark in the preliminaries as well. Hug posted a time of 4:31.47 in the early round, then bettered that by more than two seconds with another school record showing, completing the race in a time of 4:29.14.

UMR had a pair of All-America performances in the 100-yard breaststroke, as Matt Adams earned his second individual award of the meet with a fifth-place effort in 57.04 seconds and Matt Hammond placed 16th -- earning honorable mention status -- in 59.33 seconds in the finals.

The Miners' 800-freestyle relay team of Mark Chamberlain, Shelley, Adams and Hug recorded a time of 6:47.15 to break yet another school standard, topping the old record set in the same facility eight seasons ago by over a second.

As a team, the Miners have established eight new school records over the first three days of the national meet.

NCAA Division II Swimming Championship results

March 16, 2007

Stensby is runner-up in 100-fly; Miners now 4th at NCAA meet

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Travis Stensby

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A strong second day performance has the University of Missouri-Rolla swimming team in fourth place after Thursday's sessions of the NCAA Division II Swimming Championships.

Highlighted by Travis Stensby's second place showing in the 100-yard butterfly and two more school record performances, the Miners moved up one spot in the team standings. The Miners, with 155 points, moved by California-San Diego into fourth and sits 25 points in back of Wayne State (Mich.) at the midway point of the meet. Drury and North Dakota are first and second, respectively.

Stensby broke his own school record in the 100-fly during the afternoon preliminaries when he posted a 48.97, then swam a 49.06 in the finals to take second to Drury's Yiwen Huang, who had a time of 47.86.

Matt Hug, who finished seventh in the 1,000-yard freestyle on Wednesday, took sixth in the 200-freestyle Thursday night as he swam the race in 1:40.10. Hug made the finals by winning a swim-off with UC San Diego's Tim Fuller and won it in a school record time of 1:39.68.

Matt Hammond earned All-America status as well in the 400-yard individual medley by coming in sixth with a time of 4:04.44 in the finals; he swam a seasonal-best 4:03.59 in the preliminaries.

The Miners also got a 12th-place finish from Matt Adams in the 100-butterfly in 50.84 seconds.

Both Miner relay teams also placed among the top seven, as the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Chris Scheuber, Mark Chamberlain, Adams and David Sanchez-Turner took sixth in a time of 1:23.64, while the 400-yard medley relay quartet of Kyle Kammer, David Calcara, Stensby and Chamberlain finished seventh in the finals with a time of 3:24.72.

Earlier in the day, the 400-medley relay team broke the school standard by posting a time of 3:23.15 to make it into the finals.

Through two days of the meet, 11 of the 12 Miner swimmers in Buffalo have earned All-America status.

NCAA Division II Swimming Championship results

March 15, 2007

Six earn All-America honors on day one of swimming nationals

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Matt Adams

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University of Missouri-Rolla swimming team gained six All-America performances on the opening night of the NCAA Division II Swimming Championships and find themselves in fifth place after day one of the competition.

Matt Adams broke the school record in the 200-yard individual medley as he recorded the highest individual finish of the night. His fourth place showing in the event came in a time of 1:51.31 after he had the second-best time in the preliminaries of 1:52.17.

Adams broke the oldest standing school record in a non-diving event, as Derek Coon's mark of 1:52.39 had stood since March 12, 1986, or just over 21 years ago.

Kyle Kammer missed the B-final in the event by over a second as he swam a time of 1:56.71.

The Miners also had All-America performances on an individual basis from Matt Hug and Andrew Trowbridge in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Hug took seventh in the event with a school record time of 9:27.46, while Trowbridge earned honorable mention All-America by coming in 14th in 9:42.32.

UMR's 200-yard medley relay team of Travis Stensby, Bill Gaul, Matt Adams and Chris Scheuber placed sixth in that event with a time of 1:32.34, a slight improvement over its time in the preliminary round.

The Miners had nobody in the finals of the 50-yard freestyle; Scheuber was the highest finisher in the prelims with a 20th place showing in a time of 21.11 seconds.

UMR finished the first day of competition with 56 points, which is four points better than the 52 recorded by West Chester and seven in back of fourth place California-San Diego. Drury leads the competition after the opening day with 152 points.

NCAA Division II Swimming Championship results

March 14, 2007

Miners swimmers top CSCAA academic list

The University of Missouri-Rolla swimming team is one of three teams that tied for the top spot for NCAA Division II on the College Swimming Coaches Association of America's all-academic list for the 2006 fall semester.

The Miners posted a 3.23