The 2008-09 Missouri State women’s swimming and diving team captured its second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference title, winning eight out of 12 individual events and two of the relay races. The 2009 conference title marked the sixth crown Missouri State has earned since the Bears entered conference competition in 1999.
Under head coach Jack Steck in his 26th year, the Bears ended the 2008-09 season with a 7-6 dual meet record and four regular season invitational wins.
On the season, the Bears set 11 new school records, 10 of which were recorded at the conference championship. In March, Jordan Hawkins (Sr., Choctaw, Okla.) posted the 11th record at the Missouri last Chance Meet in the 100 free with a time of 50.65.
Hawkins highlighted the Missouri Valley Championship, leading the Bears to a second straight title, six new Valley records and 10 school records. She captured her third straight title in the 50 free, posting a new MVC and school record time of 22.87. Hawkins also claimed top honors for the second year in the 100 back, setting new school and conference records with a time of 54.58, and earned first place in the 100 free (54.58), 200 back (1:58.71) and was a member of two winning relay teams. Hawkins was named Missouri Valley Conference Swimmer of the Year for her five wins at the conference meet.
Chelsea Dirks-Ham (So., Lawrence, Kan.) notched wins in the 100 and 200 butterfly events with times of 55.34 and 2:03.76, respectively. Her victory in the 100 butterfly was her second-straight title and the time set a new conference record. Dirks-Ham was also a member of three of the four relay teams, including the winning 200 and 400 medley teams.
Also setting new individual school records were Matana Wellman (Jr., South Hampton, England) and Brianna Willoughby (Fr., Ft. Carson, Colo.). Wellman took second in the 200 free with a time of 1:50.39, breaking a record previously set in 2005. She was also a member of the 400 medley relay which set a new conference and school record with a time of 3:44.94. Willoughby, with time of 4:26.54, also set a new school and conference record in the 400 IM, shattering a five-year-old record by over two seconds.
Other notable swims included Fran Moody (Jr., Edwardsville, Ill.) in the 200 breast (2:21.72) and Willoughby in the 200 IM (2:05.50). Stacey MacDonald (Jr., Ottawa, Ontario) and Breanna Hollar (Jr., Kingwood, Texas) were also members of the 200 and 400 medley relay teams, respectively.
Diver Heather Fulton (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.), a newcomer for the Bears, finished third on the one-meter board at the Valley Championship and earned Diver of the Week honors four times throughout the season. Chelsea Ray (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska) also finished third on the three-meter board at the conference meet.
Missouri State placed 13 athletes on the All-MVC First-Team list, and eight athletes earned honorable mention. Other season-ending honors included eight student-athletes named to MVC Scholar-Athlete team.
The Bears opened up the 2008-09 season in mid-October with a disappointing two-day stint in Texas, placing fifth at the North Texas Relays and falling to Texas Christian in a dual the following day, 72-41. The Bears then traveled to compete in the first conference double dual meet of the season, falling to Illinois State, 54-42. The Bears posted their first dual meet win of the season the same day, topping Evansville 64-31 to move to 1-2 on the season.
In early November, the Bears played host to Springfield rival, Drury, but fell short 130-100, dropping to 1-3 in dual meets. The Bears quickly recovered the following week with the first home win of the season, beating Lindenwood 68-44 to move to 2-3. The Bears then split a double dual meet against Nebraska-Omaha and Truman State, which finished fourth at the NCAA Division II meet. The Bears topped Nebraska-Omaha (80-42) but came up short in the dual against Truman State (82-40).
The Bears then competed in three-straight road invitationals, capturing titles at all three. First, the squad traveled to Arkadelphia, Ark., where it topped Ouachita Baptist, Henderson State, Arkansas-Little Rock and Hendrix College at the Henderson State Invitational. The remaining two titles were recorded at the Delta State Invitational and Tunica Invitational.
Following winter training, the Bears traveled to Carbondale, Ill., to battle strong conference rival Southern Illinois. In a tough dual match-up, MSU lost to the Salukis 124-118 and moved to 3-5 on the season.
Missouri State returned home for senior day and gained a much-needed victory over Truman State in mid-January (168-104). In the second match-up of the season, the Bears lost at cross-town 2009 Division II National Champions, Drury, 147-95.
The women recovered prior to the conference championship, earning three-straight dual meet wins against Saint Louis (190-94), Lindenwood (190-14) and Illinois Tech (190-13) to finish with a 7-6 dual meet record for the 2008-09 season.
Fulton and Ray were two of 29 divers selected from the region to compete in the NCAA Zone D Championships. Fulton placed 26th and 24th on the one-meter and three-meter boards, respectively. Ray finished 29th and 25th on the one-meter and three-meter boards, respectively.
Following completion of the season, the MVC champions ranked 14th in the final Division I Mid-Major collegeswiming.com poll.
Season-ending awards went to Hawkins and Ray for the second consecutive year. Hawkins was named MSU Swimmer of the Year, and Ray earned MSU Diver of the Year. Willoughby earned MSU Freshman of the Year and Kathryn Gleich was awarded the Jack Steck Inspiration Award. Hilary Morrow was honored with the Darin Kent Spirit Award.
