A look back at eight years of competition for Missouri swim and dive

July 1, 2012.

That was the day Missouri would officially join the powerhouse Southeastern Conference after over 50 years in the Big Eight/Big 12 conference.

Coming up on eight years since that day, here’s a look back and see how the program has performed during that time.

From scandal under former coach Greg Rhodenbaugh to a new era with current coach Andrew Grevers, Missouri’s ride down the SEC highway has never been dull.

Here’s a look back at the team’s successes and failures.

2012-13

In their first real season in a new conference, the Tigers had to contend with the likes of Olympic stars like Chase Kalisz from Georgia. Still, the Missouri men roared into a fifth place finish at SEC Championships that year. The women finished eighth while having to contend with the likes of Elizabeth Beisel from Florida.

Diver David Bonuchi finished as 2013 SEC Male Diver of the Year, as he swept both the 1-meter and 3-meter championships.

For the women, Loren Figueroa won the 1-meter.

2013-14

In the Missouri Zodiac, 2013 was the Year of the Chadwick.

Michael Chadwick’s freshman season ranks among the best in program history and was the launchpad for a career littered with success on an individual level. At the SEC Championships, he shattered the school record in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 35 seconds, and 63 milliseconds.

But that was only good enough to carry the Tigers men to another fifth place, finish while the women finished ninth at SECs.

2014-15

2015 saw Chadwick put up yet another year of impressive performances in the run-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Come conference championships, the women’s team took a step forward, while the men took a slight step back.

Chadwick finished as the top American in the 100-yard freestyle but could only squeeze out a fifth place finish at the conference championship.

The women finished eighth, improving on the previous year’s ninth place, while the men took sixth.

2015-16

An Olympic year, but also a landmark year for the SEC: the arrival of Florida’s Caeleb Dressel, arguably the greatest short course yards sprinter in NCAA history. His sprinting ability was well noted in his club days with the Bolles School Sharks, but now he was bringing his talents to one of the premier conferences in swimming.

For Missouri, and Chadwick, that upped the ante come duel meets and conference time.

With SEC Championships at the Mizzou Aquatic Center that season, the season was going to be a real treat.

Chadwick took fourth in the 50-yard freestyle at NCAA Championships; Dressel took first in what would become a familiar cycle over the next year for the two competitors.

Not to be outdone, Katharine Ross brought home the Tigers’ first individual SEC swimming championship for both teams. She won the women’s 100-yard breastroke in a time of 58.38 seconds.

For the team as a whole, both the Missouri men and women finished fifth at SECs.

2016-17

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2016 was supposed to be the year Missouri made its mark.

Not only was Chadwick in his senior season, a good freshman class was coming in with the likes of Nick Alexander, Daniel Hein, Micah Slaton, and Jennifer King joining the ranks.

Chadwick did not disappoint, taking second in the 100-yard freestyle at SECs and NCAAs behind Dressel.

Diver Lauren Reedy took the SEC crown in the women’s 1-meter diving.

The rest of the team did its fair share, but it was still not enough to overcome the SEC powerhouses in Florida and Georgia, as the men took fifth yet again, while the women took sixth.

2017-18

With Chadwick gone, the Tigers again finished fifth and sixth for men and women at the SEC Championships.

In a stunning turn of events, it was announced that fall that coach Greg Rhodenbaugh was under investigation for alleged Title IX violations.

2018-19

The 2018-19 season started off with an earth-shattering bang. Rhodenbaugh was removed from his coaching duties, and long-time assistant Andrew Grevers was taking over as interim head coach. Grevers is the brother of Olympic gold medalist and former world record holder Matt Grevers.

For much of the season, the Tigers carried the weight of all the offseason drama on their shoulders. But something happened come conference time that would make the 2018-19 season one to remember.

At conference, the Tigers men secured their first individual SEC championship with senior Mikel Schreuders taking the 200-yard freestyle. That win set the tone for what proved to be a magical meet.

Schreuders’ title was backed up with a win in the 400-yard medley relay to carry the Missouri men to second place and within less than 100 points of a title. The women’s team also put up a good performance for seventh.

What had started as a season full of uncertainties ended as a season of triumph.

2019-20

With the drama of the 2018-19 season finally gone, the Tigers moved forward with Grevers as permanent head coach. Rhodenbaugh was cleared of any violations that summer after an investigation by the school.

The team, including a freshman class highlighted by distance swimmer Joseph Gutierrez from Henderson, Nevada, started off well.

The men’s team won all of its dual meets, including against Florida, while the women took all but two.

Going into SECs, expectations were high that Missouri could prove that the previous year had not been a fluke.

Danny Kovac secured the 100-yard butterfly title amidst a tidal wave of solid swims from the likes of Alexander, Hein and Slaton, among others. But the disappointing performances from relays and lack of sprint and distance finalists plummeted the team right back down to its usual fifth place finish.

On the women’s side, performances from Haley Hynes and Sarah Thompson propelled the Tigers to an eighth place finish.

Missouri was prepared to send athletes to NCAAs when both meets were canceled due to COVID-19.

Final thoughts

Almost eight years have gone by since Missouri joined the SEC, which begs the question: Has it been worth it?Just like any other school adjusting to a new conference, Missouri had to establish itself and adjust to the new competition level. MU traded swimming against the Goliath of the NCAA’s, Texas, in the Big 12 for Florida, Georgia, and Auburn, three of the premier swimming and diving programs in the country.

The competition level of the SEC compared to the Big 12 is almost like going from minor leagues up to the big leagues. The 2019 run was the perfect storm of things coming together and showed what could be possible for Missouri swimming and diving.

With Grevers at the helm, the future looks incredibly bright going forward. Perhaps an SEC championship could be in the future. Anything is possible.