SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Hosting the first annual Missouri State Invitational, the Missouri State women's swimming and diving team set several new pool records in the team's first-place tie with the Houston Cougars Saturday afternoon at Hammons Student Center.

The Bears and Cougars tied for first with a total of 347 points while Rice finished the meet in third place with 326 points. Southern Illinois finished in fourth place (289) followed by Illinois State (243), Little Rock (217) and UNI (206).

Missouri State wasted no time at the beginning of session one when Sarah Allegri, Sydney Zupan, Lauren Pavel and Loretta Stelnicki of the women's 400 medley relay set a pool record with a time of 3:43.79. Allegri started off the race followed by Pavel, then the MSU squad took a dominant lead during the butterfly leg thanks to junior Sydney Zupan while Loretta Stelnicki drove the event home.

Sophomore Josie Pearson took the A-Final of the 400 IM in 4:23.10 while Pavel finished first in the B-Final (4:28.40). Zupan swam a dominant 100 fly, winning the event and claiming the pool record in 55.12 seconds. Freshman Sara Bacher kicked off her collegiate career winning the B-Final of the 100 fly in a 55.45 performance. 

In the 50 free, Stelnicki earned the Bears' third pool record of the day in a 23.46 showing, just .02 seconds shy of her personal record. Freshman Sarah Wehrmeister saw her first action of the day, and of her collegiate career, placing second in the 50 free B-Final (24.38).

In two, nail-biting races, Pavel and freshman Vikte Labanauskaite each placed second in their respective finals during the 100 breaststroke event with Pavel recording a time of 1:03.07 in the A-Final and Labanauskaite finishing the B-Final in 1:04.96 seconds. Missouri State's Stelnicki, Wehrmeister, Allegri, and McCullough rounded out session one with a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay.

Returning for session two with 180 points, Missouri State's 200 medley relay went head-to-head with Rice for the duration of the event but earned a first-place finish with a time of 1:42.40. Zupan claimed the 200 backstroke A-Final in 2:00.02 seconds while Allegri finished third in the B-Final. 

In a day filled with first-place finishes, Stelnicki continued the trend when she finished first in the A-Final of the 100 free (51.35).

With a two-point lead over Houston heading into the final event, the Bears swam a strong 400 free relay to close out the meet. Missouri State finished third in a tight race behind the Rice Owls and Houston Cougars with a time of 3:27.35. The Cougars' relay time of 3:25.77 was enough to tie the Bears in total points (347) at the conclusion of the meet.

Individual Top-Five Performances
Sarah Allegri
100 Backstroke (A-Final) – 3^rd, 56.59
200 Freestyle Relay – 3^rd, 1:35.92
200 Medley Relay – 1^st, 1:42.40
200 Backstroke (B-Final) – 3^rd, 2:03.13
400 Medley Relay – 1^st, 3:43.79
 
Sara Bacher
100 Butterfly (B-Final) – 1^st, 55.45
200 Butterfly (A-Final) – 2^nd, 2:04.50
 
Vikte Labanauskaite
100 Breaststroke (B-Final) – 2^nd, 1:04.37
200 Breaststroke (B-Final) – 3^rd, 2:20.23
200 Freestyle (B-Final) – 4^th, 1:55.37
 
Brianna McCullough
200 Freestyle Relay – 3^rd, 1:35.92
400 Freestyle Relay – 3^rd, 3:27.35
500 Freestlye (A-Final) – 5^th, 5:08.14
 
Lauren Pavel
100 Breaststroke (A-Final) – 2^nd, 1:03.07
200 Breaststroke (A-Final) – 3^rd, 2:16.18
200 Medley Relay – 1^st, 1:42.40
400 IM (B-Final) – 1^st, 4:28.40
400 Medley Relay – 1^st, 3:43.79
 
Josie Pearson
200 IM (A-Final) – 3^rd, 2:05.97
400 IM (A-Final) – 1^st, 4:23.10
500 Freestyle (B-Final) – 3^rd, 5:05.00
 
Loretta Stelnicki
50 Freestyle (A- Final) – 23.46
100 Freestyle (A-Final) – 51.35
200 Freestyle Relay – 3^rd, 1:35.92
200 Medley Relay – 1^st, 1:42.40
400 Freestyle Relay – 3^rd, 3:27.35
400 Medley Relay – 1^st, 3:43.79
 
Sarah Wehrmeister
50 Freestyle (B-Final) – 2^nd, 24.38
100 Freestyle (B-Final) – 3^rd, 52.95
200 Freestyle Relay – 3^rd, 1:35.92
400 Freestyle Relay – 3^rd, 3:27.35
 
Sydney Zupan
100 Backstroke (B-Final) – 1^st, 54.95
100 Butterfly (A-Final) – 1^st, 55.12
200 Backstroke (A-Final) – 1^st, 2:00.02
200 Medley Relay – 1^st, 1:42.40
400 Freestyle Relay – 3^rd, 3:27.35
400 Medley Relay – 1^st, 3:43.79
 
 
Final Results
1.    Missouri State – 347 
1.    Houston – 347
3.    Rice – 326
4.    Southern Illinois – 289
5.    Illinois State – 243
6.    Little Rock – 217
7.    UNI - 206
 
 
Next Up For The Bears
The Missouri State men's and women's swimming and diving team hosts its annual Alumni/Intrasquad Meet Saturday, Oct. 15 at Hammons Student Center beginning at 5 p.m. For more information on the Missouri State men's and women's swimming and diving program visit www.missouristatebears.com or on Twitter (MoStateSwim).