The Drury University men’s swimming and diving team earned its fourth league title in four years after a dominating performance at the Crawfordsville Aquatic Center in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Feb. 8-10 behind five broken league and Pool records.
The Panthers took the victory with 867 points, 189.5 ahead of runner-up Missouri S&T (677.5). University of Indianapolis claimed the third spot with 547.5 points, while Truman State University (392) and Lewis University placed fourth (326) and fifth, respectively. William Jewell College took sixth (285) and McKendree – in its first ever postseason event – placed seventh with 275 points. University of Missouri-St. Louis (262) was eighth, Bellarmine University (128) took ninth and Maryville University (50) rounded out the 10-team field in 10th.
A total of 26 records were broken at the 2017 championship meet among the men’s and women’s races, including eight on the final day, as 13 were broken by the men’s squads.
Drury freshman Joan Casanovas was the first record breaker of the day, recording a 15:25.83 in the 1,650-yard Freestyle for the new GLVC and Pool standard in a race he had never swam until this afternoon, which was a NCAA DII “B” Standard. Casanovas later swam the second leg of the Conference- and Pool-record breaking 400-yard Freestyle that touched in at 2:56.67 for another “B” Standard. His performances today and over the course of the four-day meet were enough to earn him the GLVC Freshman of the Year award.
In the 100-yard Freestyle, Missouri S&T’s Jon Glaser broke his own GLVC and Pool record that he set in the preliminaries earlier in the day with a 43.67 and NCAA “A” Standard. That, and many more wins and records was enough to help him garner the title of GLVC Swimmer of the Year. Miguel Chavez took after his teammate, setting a new 200-yard Breaststroke record for the GLVC and Pool after having done so earlier in the day during preliminaries, which was a NCAA “B” time.
UIndy’s Rodrigo Codo Berti rounded out the results in the 200-yard Backstroke, besting his old Conference and Pool record from 2016 of 1:45.80 with a new time of 1:45.65. The time was good for a NCAA “B” cut.
Additionally, in a show of true sportsmanship, Missouri S&T head coach Doug Grooms declined to accept his peers’ vote for GLVC Coach of the Year and, instead, gave the honor to Drury’s Brian Reynolds and Doug Schranck.
All first- and second-place finishers are awarded first- and second-team All-GLVC honors, respectively.
For more information and detailed results, log on to GLVCsports.com/swim17, and replay every second of live coverage for free “On Demand” at GLVCSN.com. And don’t forget to check out the league’s Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook accounts for more at @GLVCsports
2017 GLVC POSTSEASON HONORS
GLVC Swimmer of the Year: Jon Glaser, S&T
GLVC Freshman of the Year: Joan Casanovas, DU
GLVC Coach of the Year: Brian Reynolds and Doug Schranck, DU*
*GLVC coaches voted S&T’s Doug Grooms as coach of the year, but he declined the award and gave it to Drury’s coaches
2017 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP NOMINEES
Bellarmine: Justin Lok
Drury: Andrea Bazzoli
Indianapolis: Daulton Freeman
Lewis: Mads Knoblauch
Maryville: Giordan Harris
McKendree: Zach Breedinc
Missouri S&T: Matt Wagner
Missouri-St. Louis: Michal Trefler
Truman State: Ben Sherman
William Jewell: Mason Brown
After dominating all four days of competition, the Drury University women’s swimming and diving team earned its third league title in four years while breaking 11 records at the Crawfordsville Aquatic Center in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
The Panthers took the victory with 894 points, 103.5 ahead of runner-up Truman State University (790.5). University of Indianapolis claimed the third spot with 562.5 points, while William Jewell College took fourth (406.5) and Lewis University placed fifth (353) to round out the top-five scoring teams. Quincy University came in sixth with 225 points, which bested its score and placement from last year in its first year with sport sponsorship and participation at the postseason event where the Hawks tallied 145.5 points for eighth place. Maryville University scored 182 for seventh, followed by Bellarmine University (178) in eight, University of Missouri-St. Louis (164.5) in ninth and McKendree University (106) in 10th.
A total of 26 records were broken at the 2017 championship meet among the men’s and women’s races, including eight on the final day. Among those who racked up the records and gold medals was GLVC Swimmer of the Year Bailee Nunn, who also joined teammate Erica Dahlgren as the GLVC Co-Freshmen of the Year. Brian Reynolds and Doug Schranck were voted by their peers as the GLVC Coaches of the Year.
Dahlgren’s new 1,650-yard Freestyle GLVC record began the fourth and final evening, as she touched first in 16:50.91 for a NCAA DII “B” Standard. Nunn followed in the 200-yard Breaststroke, recording a GLVC and Pool record with her 2:10.77, which was also a NCAA DII “A” Standard. Drury closed out the night with a win in the 400-yard Freestyle Relay, setting a new Conference and Pool mark (3:23.96) that was good enough for a NCAA “B” Standard as well.
The other swimmers who earned the top spot included Alison Strickler from Truman State with a 50.96 in the 100-yard Freestyle and teammate Emma Barnett’s 2:01.22 win in the 200-yard Backstroke.
All first- and second-place finishers are awarded first- and second-team All-GLVC honors, respectively.
The league also recognized 10 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school's two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.
For more information and detailed results, log on to GLVCsports.com/swim17, and replay every second of live coverage for free “On Demand” at GLVCSN.com. And don’t forget to check out the league’s Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook accounts for more at @GLVCsports.
2017 GLVC POSTSEASON HONORS
GLVC Swimmer of the Year: Bailee Nunn, DU
GLVC Co-Freshmen of the Year: Bailee Nunn, DU and Erica Dahlgren, DU
GLVC Coach of the Year: Brian Reynolds and Doug Schranck
2017 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP NOMINEES
Bellarmine: Lexie Gray
Drury: Erica Dahlgren
Indianapolis: Megan Giambirtini
Lewis: Jackie Bower
Maryville: Kirstin Parks
McKendree: Magdalena Knapp
Missouri-St. Louis: Marina Villoch
Quincy: McKenna Brown
Truman State: Grace Fodor
William Jewell: Tess Barnes
