DAY THREE
CARBONDALE - The Missouri State women's swim team continued its dominance of the Missouri Valley Conference with their fourth-consecutive conference title on Feb. 19. This is not only the fourth consecutive win for the Bears, but their eighth in nine years.
The final day began with the grueling 1650-yard freestyle. In the race, Southern Illinois' Kirsten Groome defended her title with a time of 16:43.53. For the Bears, junior Dimitra Drakopoulou went 17:04.66 to finish fourth and senior Katharina Voelkel turned in a time of 17:13.03 for seventh place.
The next event was the 200-yard backstroke, an event in which Missouri State excels. Freshman Anna Ahlin finished the race with a blistering 2:00.76. Ahlin won both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events at the meet. Close behind Ahlin was senior captain Chelsea Dirks-Ham, who placed fourth at 2:05.45. Sophomore Kaylee Steffen (2:06.21, fifth place) and junior Brynne Buell (2:06.74, seventh place) also scored for the Bears.
The 100-yard freestyle was the next event, and sophomore Amber Green's last individual event of the meet. She made the most of her last opportunity, re-breaking a conference record that she set in her preliminary swim. Her time of 49.52 is also a NCAA "B" cut, her fourth cut line of the meet. Junior Ali Stauffer (52.43, third) and freshman Hannah Molden (54.38, eighth) also finished in the top eight.
Freshman Renata Sander and sophomore Melissa Oishi were the top seeds in the 200-yard breaststroke. Both swimmers dropped a second off their prelim times, but Southern Illinois' Kristin Geppert had the race of her career, winning the event at 2:17.37. Sander, 2:18.32, and Oishi, 2:20.61, finished right behind Geppert for second and third place, respectively.
The final individual event was the 200-yard butterfly. Junior Katie Lindeman (2:07.94), sophomore Marta Nogueroles (2:07.94) and Voelkel (2:12.81) finished fifth, sixth and eighth, respectively.
Next up was the 3-meter diving championship final. The Bears put the freshman duo of Kelsey Burgin and Lindsey Conway. Burgin totaled 232.35 for sixth place in the event, while Conway scored 195.20 for eighth place.
The final event of the meet was an event for senior captain Chelsea Dirks-Ham. The stalwart leader of the Bears over the past four seasons had not yet won an event in the meet. So, head coach Jack Steck and associate head coach Dave Collins decided to swim Dirks-Ham as the anchor leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay. Ahlin, Stauffer and Green built a large lead in the event, but, the swimmer that has meant so much to this program over the years was given the honor of touching the wall at 3:26.33, for her first win of the meet and the last of her career.
"What an awesome way for our captain go out on top," said Collins of Dirks-Ham, "Our program would not be where we are today without her. She just means so much to this program. We hate to lose her. You cannot replace a Chelsea Dirks-Ham."
The Bears totaled 944 points in the meet (seventh highest point total in MVC history), compiling a win margin of 209 points. Head coach Jack Steck was named Valley Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year, the seventh of his career. Steck has won more MVC Coach of the Year awards than any coach in Valley history. Amber Green was selected as Swimmer of the Year after winning all seventh events she swam in, setting six new conference and school records.
FINAL STANDINGS
1) Missouri State 944
2) Illinois State 735
3) Southern Illinois 616
4) Evansville 476.5
5) UNI 372.5
DAY TWO
Day two began with the 200-yard medley relay. The Bears won the 400-yard medley relay in the last event of Day one. The 200-yard medley relay was more of the same. The MSU squad of senior Chelsea Dirks-Ham, freshman Renata Sander, junior Ali Stauffer and sophomore Amber Green went 1:45.52, for a new MVC, MSU and Pool record. The time is also an NCAA "B" cut.
In the 400-yard IM, the Bears again placed five swimmers in the top eight. Junior Brianna Willoughby was the top finisher for MSU, coming in at 4:26.20 for a second-place finish. The other Bear finishers were sophomore Kaylee Steffen (4:32.16, third), junior Katie Lindeman (4:34.06, fourth), senior Rene Smith (4:36.53, seventh) and sophomore Marta Nogueroles (4:38.31, eighth)
The closest race of the meet came in the 100-yard butterfly. Senior Chelsea Dirks-Ham, a three-time champion in the event, fell just short with her time of 56.86. She was a mere .01 seconds behind the first-place finisher. Stauffer also scored in the event, finishing sixth at 57.55.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Green came out strong, winning the event at 1:48.92, again setting new MSU and MVC records. In two days of competition, Green has set new records in the 50-yard freestyle (MVC, MSU and Pool), 200-yard freestyle (MVC and MSU), 200-yard freestyle relay (MSU, MVC and Pool) and the 200-yard medley relay (MSU, MVC and Pool).
The Bears had tough competition in the 100-yard breaststroke. Sander and sophomore Melissa Oishi competed in the championship heat for the Bears. The top competitor in the field was SIU's Kristin Geppert. Though the race was very close, Sander finished second with a time of 1:03.79 and Oishi tied for fifth at 1:05.67.
The next event was the 100-yard backstroke. The Bears had the top two seeds in the event with Dirks-Ham and Ahlin seeded first and second, respectively. In the race itself, the duo reversed roles. Ahlin won the event at 56.80 and Dirks-Ham finished just behind her at 57.16.
To wrap up the second day, Missouri State competed in one of the few events they were not favored in, the 800-yard freestyle relay. Host school Southern Illinois had won the event in each of the past five years. This year, however, the Bears had a group that was capable of toppling the powerhouse. Missouri State was down a body-length to the Salukis heading into the final leg of the race, with reigning MVC Swimmer of the Year Kirsten Groome anchoring SIU. For MSU, sophomore sensation Amber Green took control and swam a 1:49.00 split to lead the Bear to victory. The quad of Ahlin, junior Dimitra Drakopoulou, freshman Hannah Molden and Green turned in a new conference and MSU record of 7:30.37.
DAY ONE
The Missouri State women's swimming and diving team took the first steps toward their fourth consecutive MVC title today in Carbondale. The Bears are in first place with 291.5 points, a full 92.5 points ahead of Illinois State.
On the day, the Bears set three new conference records, three school records and two pool records.
The day started out with the 200-yard freestyle relay. The Missouri State squad of Amber Green, Ali Stauffer, Janke Engelbrecht and Anna Ahlin won the event with a time of 1:33.11, a new MSU, Edward Shea Natatorium and MVC record. Amber Green's leadoff split of 22.58 which was also a MSU, Pool and MVC record...at the time.
In the second event, the 500-yard freestyle, junior Katie Lindeman impressed with a personal best 5:00.43 to win the consolation final. In the championship heat, the Bears sent out the duo of Dimitra Drakopoulou and Katharina Voelkel. Drakopoulou finished in second place with her time of 4:57.48, while Voelkel finished seventh, touching the wall at 5:01.38.
For the third event, the 200-yard individual medley, the Bears showed their depth that makes them the team to beat in the Valley. Missouri State put an astounding five swimmers in the championship heat. Junior Brianna Willoughby continued her annual dominance in the event with a time of 2:04.51. This time is a new MVC and MSU record. Willoughby has now won the 200-yard IM conference title for three consecutive years.
In addition to Willoughby's standout performance, the other Bear swimmers stepped up to the challenge as well. The freshman duo of Renata Sander (2:06.41) and Anna Ahlin (2:06.43) finished second and third, respectively. Close behind them was sophomore Melissa Oishi (2:07.34) in fifth and sophomore Kaylee Steffen (2:08.70) in eighth. In this event alone, Missouri State earned 78 points.
Green came out again as the top seed in the 50-yard freestyle. Though she set a new record in the event leading off the 200-yard freestyle relay, Green was not finished. She beat her previous record with a time of 22.54, which is an NCAA "B" cut time. Sophomore Ali Stauffer (24.37, fifth place) and freshman Janke Engelbrecht (24.55, eighth place) also scored in the event.
The Missouri State freshman trio of Kelsey Burgin, Lindsey Conway and Paige Koebbe took on the one-meter boards in the diving portion of the contest. Though a very young squad, these divers represented themselves well. Koebbe won the consolation round with a score of 226.10. Burgin placed sixth with a score of 231.50 and Conway was close behind, scoring 225.05 for seventh.
The 400-yard medley relay ended the first day of competition. For this event, the Bears sent out Ahlin, Sander, senior Chelsea Dirks-Ham and Willoughby. This squad put together a time of 3:49.70, for a first place finish.
