Vol82issue25

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M THE MANEATER

The student voice of MU since 1955

www.themaneater.com

Vol. 82, Issue 25

MARCH 23, 2016

WOmen’s Basketball

Missouri women have hope after tournament loss For the women’s basketball team, its season is not about the ending. LEXI CHURCHILL Assistant Sports Editor

COURTESY OF SHANE EPPING

J’den Cox looks to Mizzou fans in the audience and punctuates a win by pin against Minnesota’s Brett Pfarr, a No. 3 seed, in the semi-finals of the NCAA Wrestling Tournament on March 18 at Madison Square Garden.

Wrestling Tournament

J’den Cox learns from semifinal loss, clinches second national championship Cathy Cox: “One of the big differences between last year and this year in wrestling is that J’den had fun all year long.” ALEC LEWIS Sports Editor After the second match of the 2014–15 Missouri wrestling season, Cathy Cox texted her son, J’den, and asked if he was having fun. His response? “No. No, I’m not.” Fast forward a year later to this past Saturday night, the junior was having fun. He had ascended back to the first-place podium by winning his second national championship under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden in New York against, yes, Penn State’s top-ranked Morgan McIntosh. McIntosh spoiled Cox’s hopes

at repeating as national champion last year. After winning an NCAA national championship as a true freshman in the 2013–14 season, Cox rolled through regular-season opponents en route to what he hoped would be back-to-back national titles. Ultimately, Cox fell in the semifinal in St. Louis and again in the third-place match to Penn State’s McIntosh. It was a huge setback. In primetime and on ESPN, the junior prevailed 4–2 in the 197pound match to win his second national title — tied for the most in school history. “Saturday night was amazing — it was absolutely electric,” Cathy Cox said. “Just to be in Madison Square Garden where performers perform and the Ali’s have boxed, you could just feel the excitement in the air and was probably better than anything I’d ever been to.” Cox, who won four state

championships at Hickman High School, wasn’t supposed to lose as a sophomore, but he did. Looking back, the adversity from those losses propelled thought, the thought propelled change, and from Cathy Cox’s perspective, that helped her son in many ways. From an attitude perspective to a work ethic perspective, J’den Cox was able to not only change and reassess his goals, but to learn from them. “One of the things that I heard him say last year was, ‘I didn’t lose, I learned,’” Cathy Cox said. “I think he learned a lot about himself. He learned a lot about what it takes to stay on top and that he can’t take anything for granted, and I don’t think he took it for granted. I just think he faced a lot of adversity with keeping up with his weight like he should have.”

It’s no secret. Texas is huge. That is one of the first and most important aspects the Missouri women’s basketball players and coaches hinted at before they took on the Longhorns on Monday. With nearly half of the Texas roster at 5-foot11 and up, including 6-foot-7 senior center Imani Boyette, the Tigers knew they had their work cut out for them on the boards. They didn’t need to watch film to predict that one. During the first five minutes of the game, Mizzou kept Texas scoreless, which served as a false precedent for the game ahead. Once Missouri’s 6–0 streak ended, so did its command. The Tigers trailed for the rest of the game, seeing spurts of hope, but they ultimately couldn't overcome the first half double-digit deficit. They would fall 73-55. “I felt like we got ourselves in a little bit of a hole in that first half and had a hard time recovering,” coach Robin Pingeton said. “(We) got to within 11 in that fourth quarter with about eight minutes to go and had a couple costly turnovers. We knew we were going to give up some offensive boards, but gave up more than what we anticipated, and then had to fight our way back from there.” Although it wasn’t the only factor, height was indeed the most talked-about difference in the

TEAM | Page 4

JORDAN KODNER | PHOTO EDITOR

COX | Page 16

Redshirt junior Lindsey Cunningham passes to a teammate Feb. 12.

Student curator talks about her two-year tenure Tracy Mulderig is going to take time to recharge after serving as the student rep to the UM System Board of Curators. She says she has had a good relationship with the UM System presidents. Have Girl Scout cookies

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yearround with these recipes.

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Men’s swimming takes its turn at nationals.

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