COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of North Dakota women's swimming and diving team finished seventh with 163 points after three days of competition at the Mizzou Tiger Invite. Host Missouri won the meet with a score of 999, Boise State took second (819) and Kansas placed third (604). North Texas came in fourth with 485 points, followed by UC Davis (477), and Drury (294). Saint Louis took eighth with 68 points.

"All around, our second swims were pretty solid," head coach Steve Parsons said. "I'm really happy with how they stepped up to the challenge. We're never fully satisfied with where we are at, so we'll work on fixing a few minor things when we get back to our own pool."

Sophomore Morgan Lynch (Elk River, Minn.) opened the closing round of finals with a 16th-place finish in the 1650 free with a time of 17:28.97. Junior Veronica Medon (Hunstville, Ontario) shaved over a second off of her 200 back time (2:02.46) to take fifth with a time of 2:00.73, and sophomore Kelsey Richels (Wahpeton, N.D.) finished 11th in the 100 free, clocking in at 51.23 (52.09 prelim).

"Veronica swam extremely well for us tonight," Parsons said. "We were impressed with what we saw both in her individual events and in the relay.

"Kelsey also put in some great swims for us tonight."

Junior Kara Fisher (Fergus Falls, Minn.) finished the 200 breast with a time of 2:30.54 (2:28.55 prelim) for 31st place, and senior Caitlin Conci (Craig, Colo.) took 27th in the 200 fly with a time of 2:11.87 (2:09.69 prelim).

North Dakota's 400 free relay 'A' team of Medon, Richels, Lynch, and Fisher placed ninth with a time of 3:29.81 to close the pool events.

On the platform, senior Megan Keidel (Bismarck, N.D.) led the way with a score of 189.00 (194.95 prelim) to finish sixth. Freshman Cassidy Tangeman (Shakopee, Minn.) placed 10th (169.15) and sophomore Rachael Waldbillig (Circle Pines, Minn.) took 11th with a mark of 167.30.

"It was a great night on the platform for all of our divers," Parsons said. "We'll tweak a few things when we get home, and look to improve on those scores."

 - Go Green -