Feb. 16, 2015

MVC Release | Follow @MoStateSwim

ST. LOUIS - The Missouri State women's swimming & diving team has been chosen to repeat as Missouri Valley Conference champion in a pre-championship poll of the conference's head coaches, the league announced Monday, Feb. 16.

The Bears (35 points) are the favorites by a slim four-point margin over Illinois State, who received 31 points and second place in the poll. Southern Illinois, with 25 points, would closely follow as Evansville (16 points), Northern Iowa (14 points) and UALR (6 points) round out the rankings.

Missouri State won its seventh straight conference crown by 222 points over Illinois State last February to pull within three of the SIU's record 14 overall championships.

MSU boasts swimmers who hold top-three times on the MVC best list in 13 different events this season. Nineteen total Bears have top-10 times heading into the conference championship.

The 2015 MVC Championship begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, at SIU's Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium. Fans can view live video and results for the four-day meet off the Championship Central link on the swimming and diving schedule on MissouriStateBears.com.

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