Jan. 18, 2012

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Heading into the second of two dual meets against crosstown rival Drury on Thursday, the Missouri State swimming & diving team will look to echo its performance from Hammons Student Center pool in October when both squads came away with victories over the Panthers. Diving will begin at 5 p.m., while swimming starts at 6 p.m. at Drury's Breech Pool.

Thursday's dual meet will be televised by Mediacom on Channel 22. The replay of the meet will air on Friday, January 20, Saturday, January 21 and Sunday, January 22, all at 7 p.m.

"It's always a challenge," interim head coach Dave Collins said. "We're going to have to really race hard if we want to come out of there with a win on both sides. Depth will definitely play a role and we are going to be looking for contributions from every single one of our athletes."

In October, for the second meeting in-a-row, the outcome of the women's meet came down to the final relay. Despite surrendering first place to the Panthers in the 400 free relay, the Bears finished second and third to hold off Drury in a thrilling 119-115 win.

In men's action, the Bears won in convincing fashion, defeating the visiting Panthers 169-74 on homecoming weekend. It also marked one of the largest margins of victory over the Drury men in the storied rivalry.

This time around, Drury will have a handful of newcomers that the Bears have yet to see in action, making it an intriguing matchup.

Missouri State is 10-13 all-time against Drury on the men's side, while the MSU women are looking to close the gap on the Panthers' 8-3 advantage.

Following the Drury meet, Missouri State will return to the confines of Hammons Student Center for its first home meet since the Mizzou dual on Oct. 10. The Bears welcome first-year program William Jewell to the pool at 4 p.m. on Friday.