ST. LOUIS – In a pre-championship poll of the conference's head coaches, the Missouri State women's swimming and diving team has been named the favorite to capture the Missouri Valley Swimming and Diving Conference Championship, announced by the league Thursday, Feb. 9.
 
The Bears raked in six first-place votes and one second place nod for a total of 48 points. Defending MVC Champions, Southern Illinois, came in a close second with 43 points, followed by UNI (35), Illinois State (28), Little Rock (29), Evansville (16) and Indiana State (7).
 
Heading into the meet, Missouri State seeks its 13^th conference title after being blocked by conference foe SIU at last season's championship. The Salukis edged out Missouri State by half a point (799.5-799) to halt Bears' attempt at achieving their ninth consecutive conference title. Nine Bears were honored as first-team selections while eight received all-conference honorable mention accolades.
 
Currently, Missouri State holds the top spot in eight different events, while boasting 18 top-three times this season. Seventeen Bears hold top-10 times in the MVC heading into the conference championship.
 
Hosted by UNI, action at the 2017 MVC Championship begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the University of Iowa Recreation/Wellness Center Natatorium in Iowa City, Iowa. Live streaming will be available during the finals each day of the championship, with coverage starting at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 4:00 pm on Saturday.