The Missouri State swimming and diving teams will head to Carbondale, Ill., Feb. 16-18, to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference championship, hosted by SIU. The MSU swimming teams are both defending Valley champions.
In the pre-championship coaches poll, the MSU women's team have been picked No. 1, receiving all five first-place votes. SIU was picked second in the poll followed by Illinois State, Evansville and UNI, respectively. Last season, the MSU women won the meet with 913 points, followed by SIU with 849 points, Illinois State with 768.50 points, Evansville with 402.50 points and UNI with 202 points. The women's team is lead by head coach Jack Steck who was Valley Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
Senior Liz Geisler owns four top times in the Valley including the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.65), 500-yard freestyle (4:56.59), the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:19.53) and the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:21.50). Andi Rojas has the fastest time in both butterfly events with a time of 57.13 in the 100-yard fly and 2:06.13 in the 200-yard fly. Rojas also has the top time in the 200-yard IM (2:06.58). Jordan Hawkins has the best time in the 50-yard freestyle (23.82) and Allison Zeller is on top in the 100-yard backstroke. The MSU relay teams have all conquered the best times in the Valley. 
In a pre-championship national poll, Missouri State's women's swimming team has moved to an all-time high ranking, according to collegeswimming.com. The women are ranked second to No. 1 ranked Harvard University.
The Missouri State men will be competing in the Missouri Valley Invitational concurrent with the women's championship. The MSU men won the meet last season with 746 points, followed by SIU with 681 points and Evansville with 322 points.
Missouri State's men's swimming team moved down to No. 4 on the pre-championship poll, according to collegeswimming.com. Outscoring Missouri State is the U.S. Naval Academy in third, Harvard in second, and topping the poll is Princeton.
The Missouri State men hold several top 100 times, according to Taper and Shave’s latest Quick 100 report. Matt Beasley is ranked 42nd in the 200 free (1:38.09), 35th in the 200 IM (1:49.98), 49th in the 100 breast (56.12), 66th in the 200 breast (2:03.64), and 98th in the 500 free (4:31.85). Mitch Richards ranks 76th in the 50 free (20.56), 85th in the 100 free (45.17), and 80th in the 100 back (50.21). Eduardo Pajares ranks 82nd in the 500 free (4:30.58), and 43rd in the 200 back (1:48.03). Seth Johnson holds the 38th best time in the 200 breast (2:01.46) and the 79th best time in the 100 breast (56.78). Victor Serra is ranked 38th in the 200 fly (1:48.74) and 59th in the 100 fly (49.29). The MSU men's 400-yard freestyle is ranked 18th in the nation with a time of 3:00.39.
The Missouri Valley championships will be Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 16-18, in Carbondale, Ill. Preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m. all three days, with finals at 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
