IOWA CITY, Iowa – After losing the conference crown by half a point last season, Missouri State returned to the 2016-17 Missouri Valley Conference Championships with a vengeance, earning its 13^th MVC championship title in program history with a total of 832.5 points.
 
Winning the conference crown by nearly 200 points – 183.5 to be exact – the Bears reclaimed their title as they led the conference every single day of the meet. Southern Illinois, the 2015-16 MVC champions, finished behind Missouri State with a total of 649 points. Host UNI finished third (615), followed by Illinois State (393.5), Evansville (365), Little Rock (303) and MVC newcomer Indiana State (148).
 
"It feels so good to bring the conference title back to Missouri State," head coach Dave Collins said. "The athletes and staff have done a really good job of really bringing everything together so we could reach this goal. What you saw was a very motivated group of people and that was a huge difference from this season as compared to last year."
 
Over the four-day meet, the Bears broke countless personal records, broke nine school records and set six new Missouri Valley Conference records.
 
"Leading this team has been an incredible honor," senior captain CeCe Etter said. "The team worked together amazingly this season and we all knew what we had to do to get that trophy back, so we just went out there and did it."
 
On day four of competition, the Bears sent 12 swimmers to the finals to compete for conference titles. Three Bears walked away with championship crowns on the final day, beginning with senior Lauren Pavel in the 200 breaststroke. The captain finished touched the wall four seconds faster than the runner-up, finishing with a MSU and MVC-record time of 2:12.43.
 
Sophomore Emma Wall was the next Bear to win a conference title, setting a lifetime-best in the 200 fly. Cutting .16 seconds off her victorious prelims time, she completed the event in 1:59.25, achieving "B" standards.
 
Also setting a new personal record in her first-place performance on the three-meter board was senior Alexis Skiniotes. Racking up a career-high 288.80 points, Skiniotes dove her way into the Missouri State all-time top five and earned her first MVC championship title.
 
"Today, I really saw all of the hard work and potential that the divers had to offer this season," diving coach Jim Huelskamp said. "Alexis is a diver who's never made it to the finals on the three-meter, but she's really been working hard and learned a new dive and it's great to see her hard work pay off. Payton, our freshman, went from finishing 17^th at the state meet a year ago to finishing sixth in the conference so that is incredibly encouraging moving forward into her career."
 
Named the MVC Freshman Diver of the Year, Payton Smith took sixth on the three-meter board after totaling 207.6 points. Ending a six-year dry spell, Smith was the first freshman Bear to make it to the three-meter finals in the last six seasons.
 
Winning their respective heats in the prelims, Sarah Allegri and Sydney Zupan placed second and third in the 200 backstroke. Allegri, a freshman, set the school record in the event after recording a silver-medal time of 1:57.31.
 
Loretta Stelnicki earned her third MVC bronze medal of the weekend in the 100 free after recording a carer-best time of 50.69 seconds. Hope Ernhart followed closely, placing fourth just .20 seconds after Stelnicki.
 
Missouri State dominated the 200 breast, going 1-2-3 in the event. Pavel led the pack while freshman Vikte Labanauskaite earned her second silver-medal of the four-day meet, finishing in a career-best time of 2:16.19. Briana Horozewski capped off the top three, finishing the race in 2:16.53 – one final personal record for the senior.
 
The Bears earned three top-eight spots in the 200 fly as well, earning first, third and fifth-place finishes. Wall led the squad with her record-breaking time, while sophomore Josie Pearson earned the bronze medal. Hanna Flanagan also earned a top-eight finish, touching the wall fifth in 2:05.31.
 
Closing out the meet, the Missouri State earned a silver medal in the 400 free relay, where Ernhart, Anna Bump, Labanauskaite and Stelnicki combined for a time of 3:24.40.
 
Seven Bears received MVC honorable mention acknowledgements, while 10 Bears were named to the MVC first-team. Collins, who wrapped up his fifth season with the Missouri State women, earned MVC Coach of the Year honors after the Bears' dominant season and MVC Championship victory.
 
Dominating the MVC Championships, Lauren Pavel was named the 2016-17 MVC Swimmer of the Year. At the championships, Pavel broke MSU and MVC records in the 200 IM, as well as the 100 and 200 breast. The senior was also a part of the record-breaking 200 and 400 medley relay teams, bringing in a total of five gold medals on the weekend.
 
"The biggest change I've seen is how much more supportive and how much closer our team is," Pavel explained. "That has made this experience so much more enjoyable and so much fun because I absolutely love these girls."
 
"This has been a wonderful group of women to coach," Collins added. "These seniors are a very special group and we're going to miss them very much. What they have done in the pool and through their leadership, it's really set the tone for the team looking towards the future."
 
MVC Coach of the Year
Dave Collins
 
MVC Swimmer of the Year
Lauren Pavel

MVC Freshman Diver of the Year
Payton Smith
 
MVC First Team
Sarah Allegri
Sara Bacher
Briana Horozewski
Vikte Labanauskaite
Lauren Pavel
Josie Pearson
Alexis Skiniotes
Loretta Stelnicki
Emma Wall
Sydney Zupan
 
MVC Honorable Mention
Anna Bump
Brooke Dreiling
Hope Ernhart
Hanna Flanagan
Brianna McCullough
Payton Smith
Sarah Wehrmeister