SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury swimming and diving returns to Breech Pool Friday (Dec. 5), hosting fellow Great Lakes Valley Conference foes Southwest Baptist and William Jewell for a double-dual event.
Live results for the 5 p.m., meet will be available via the Meet Mobile app and DiveMeets.com.
Both Drury teams are coming off strong showings at the SMU Invitational in Dallas two weeks ago. Ranked third in the November edition of the CSCAA Division II Top 25 dual meet poll, the DU women placed fifth at SMU, edging NCAA Division I members North Texas and Notre Dame in the final team standings.
On the men's side of the ledger, the Panthers earned the top spot in the CSCAA D-II Top 25 poll for the second consecutive month in November. Drury placed fourth as a team at the SMU Invite, beating three D-I foes in Air Force, Hawaii and Notre Dame. The Panthers won their first dual of the season with a commanding performance against Missouri S&T (174-31) on Oct. 4.
The Drury swimming programs are led by Brian Reynolds, one of the nation's most accomplished collegiate swimming coaches. Reynolds enters his 43rd year as head coach of the Panthers men's team and his 38th season leading the women's program in 2025.
LAST TIME OUT...
The Panthers turned in a successful weekend at the SMU Invitational, Nov. 19-22, at Robson and Lindley Aquatics Center in Dallas. The Drury men wrapped up a fourth-place finish, while the women placed fifth in the team standings.
Ranked No. 1 in the CSCAA Division II Top 25 dual meet poll, the Drury men earned a total of 429.5 points to place fourth among seven teams. Stanford won the event with 972 points, while SMU was second with 833.5 points and Utah placed third with 717 points. The Panthers finished ahead of fifth-place Air Force (366.5), followed by Hawaii (334.5) and Notre Dame (90).
The DU women's squad, ranked third in the November CSCAA D-II poll, recorded 354 points to finish fifth among seven teams. Arkansas won the meet with 1,072 points, while Hawaii was second with 690.5 points, while Utah was third with 629.5 points and SMU (618) edged Drury for fourth. The Panthers finished ahead of sixth-place North Texas (294) and Notre Dame (63).
Highlighting the fourth day of competition in Dallas were big performances by both the DU men and women in the 200 IM and 100 free. Both Gwen Bergum (2:01.22) and Nikol Maniko (2:02.57) turned in top-five national times for the women in the 200 IM. On the men's side, Alvaro Zornoza clocked the top mark in the nation this season (1:44.87), while Joao Nogueira also registered an NCAA-qualifying time with his swim of 1:47.29.
PANTHERS TO WATCH
- Gwen Bergum (IM/breast/relays) led the Drury women with a standout performance at SMU which included the top NCAA D-II time this season in the 200 breast (2:11.78); she also turned in a personal best in the 200 IM (2:01.22) and her top 400 IM time (4:20.85) this season; the Skedsmokorset, Norway product also helped the Panthers' 200 medley relay team to a top five national mark of 1:41.70.
- Sophia Deane (back/free) was one of the Panthers' top performers in Dallas, notching personal bests in the 100 (56.09) and 200 back (2:03.21), as well as the 500 free (5:10.90).
- Matheus Siniscalchi (free) posted three personal bests at SMU, including a 15:24.44 swim in the 1650 free that ranks among the top 10 times in the nation this fall; the sophomore from Brazil also topped his previous bests in the 200 free (1:41.08) and 500 free (4:25.18), while notching a season-best 9:16.61 in the 1000 free.
- Alvaro Zornoza (back/fly/relays) turned in a memorable week at SMU, notching personal bests in the 200 IM (1:44.87) and 200 free (1:35.92), in addition to notching the top NCAA D-II time this season in the 100 back (46.14); he also helped the Panthers' 200 free (1:18.54) and 200 medley (1:25.60) relay teams to strong performances in Dallas, clocking the No. 1 and No. 2 times nationally this season.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury swimming will return to competition Jan. 16, when the Panthers host cross-town rival Missouri State for the first of two duals on back-to-back days in Springfield. DU diving will return to action next weekend on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
For all the latest information on Drury swimming and diving, visit drurypanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on Instagram.
#OneDrury
