Freshman Hendrik Bechtel won the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle races to help the UMSL men’s swimming team close out 2023 with wins against Missouri S&T and Rockhurst. (Photo by Luke Rinne)
Men’s and Women’s Swimming
The University of Missouri–St. Louis men’s and women’s swimming teams went 3-0 in their final meet of 2023 with the men’s team defeating Rockhurst 118-94 and Missouri S&T 107-105 in a triangular and the women’s team beating the Hawks 157-45 in a dual on Friday afternoon in Rolla, Missouri. Freshman Hendrik Bechtel led the men’s team with first-place finishes in both the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle races, posting times of 4 minutes, 47.94 seconds and 9:51.30, respectively. Senior Conley Savage won the 200 backstroke in a time of 1:50.90 and was also runner-up in the 200 individual medley after finishing in 1:55.55. Fifth-year senior Guillem Masjuan Roca had a pair of second-place finishes in the 100 and 200 free with times of 47.33 seconds and 1:44.15, respectively. Freshmen Justice Beard and Audrey Lantz were both multiple-event winners for the Tritons women’s team. Beard won the 500 and 1,000 freestyle races with times of 5:09.47 and 10:32.32, respectively. Lantz, meanwhile, won the sprints, posting a time of 25.23 seconds in the 50 free and 54.79 in the 100 free. Other event winners included freshman Kelsey Roth, who posted a time of 1:57.71 in the 200 free; junior Kate Nelson, who won the 200 IM in 2:15.76; freshman Ella Lantz, who touched first in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:13.52 and fifth-year senior Zara Konstapel, who won the 200 breaststroke in 2:28.62. UMSL will return to the pool on Friday, Jan. 12, for a dual meet against Washington University in St. Louis at Millstone Pool.
Women’s Basketball
The Tritons saw their two-game winning streak snapped as their fourth-quarter rally came up short Saturday in a 67-61 loss at Kentucky Wesleyan. UMSL trailed by as many of nine points in the final frame but used a 7-2 run to close to within 58-55 after Jalysa Stokes‘ short jumper with 3:06 remaining. They went more than two minutes without scoring again, allowing Kentucky Wesleyan to pull away again. Stokes finished with a game-high 28 points, but no other UMSL player finished in double figures. Morgan Ramthun was the next-highest scorer with nine points. Emmy Ralph led a more balanced Kentucky Welseyan attack with 19 points, and Jordyn Barga finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. They combined to make seven of Kentucky Wesleyan’s 11 3-pointers. UMSL, meanwhile, finished 4 for 16 from beyond the arc. The Tritons (6-4) take on Purdue Northwest on Tuesday afternoon at the Mark Twain Athletic Center.
