MSU Women’s Swimming and Diving Set for MVC Championships

Wednesday, February 16

Iowa City, Iowa

TBA

Missouri State University

Missouri Valley Conference Championships

MSU Women’s Swimming and Diving Set for MVC Championships

February 15, 2022 | Swimming and Diving

Live Stream 2021-22 Swim Results MVC Championship Central MVC Pre-Championship Poll

By: Athletics Communications

SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State women's swimming and diving team will look to close out its season with a sixth-straight conference title when it travels to Iowa City, Iowa to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships Wednesday through Saturday (Feb. 16-19) at the Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Pool.

Missouri Valley Conference Championships
Date and Time	Feb. 16-19 \| Prelims: 11 a.m. \| Finals 6 p.m.
Location	Iowa City, Iowa
Site	Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center
Follow Along	Meet Mobile \| Twitter \| MVC Live Streams
Missouri State	Swimming & Diving Home Page \| Twitter \| Instagram

Meet Details

The meet will be held at Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center in Iowa City, Iowa.
Finals will take place at 6 p.m. on all four days while prelims will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday-Saturday.
The Meet will be streamed on the Missouri Valley Conference YouTube page.
Live results can be found on the Meet Mobile app, which is downloadable through the app store.

Scoring

Relays: 40-34-32-30-28-26-24-22 (one relay per team)
Individual: 20-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Order of Events

Wednesday, Feb. 16 | Finals 6 p.m.

200 Medley Relay
- 45 Min. Break -
800 Free Relay

Thursday, Feb. 17 | Prelims 11 a.m.

500 Freestyle
200 IM
50 Freestyle
1-Meter Diving Prelims
1-Meter Diving (9-16)

Thursday, Feb. 17 | Finals 6 p.m.

500 Freestyle
200 IM
50 Freestyle
1-Meter Diving
200 Free Relay

Friday, Feb. 18 | Prelims 11 a.m.

100 Butterfly
400 IM
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
3-Meter Diving Prelims

Friday, Feb. 18 | Finals 6 p.m.

100 Butterfly
400 IM
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
3-Meter Diving Prelims
400 Medley Relay

Saturday, Feb. 19 | Prelims 11 a.m.

200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
1,650 Freestyle

Saturday, Feb. 19 | Finals 6 p.m.

1,650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
3-Meter Diving
400 Freestyle Relay

An Unrivaled Feat

The Bears have won the last five MVC Championship and are the only NCAA Division 1 women's swimming and diving program to win 17 of its last 19 conference championships. Last year MSU put up an impressive 929.5 points defeating second-place Southern Illinois by a 381-point margin which was the largest in program history. The only time in the last decade the Bears fell at the Championships was in 2016 when they suffered a loss to Southern Illinois by just half a point.
This will be the third MVC Championship hosted in Iowa City, Iowa, as Missouri State won the previous two in 2017 and 2018.

Miller Time

Senior Anna Miller has continued her dominance in 2021-22 after garnering MVC Swimmer of the Year honors last season. She set a school and MVC record in the 50 freestyle at Purdue on Nov.18 with a time of 22.13 which is the 20^th-fastest nationally and the third-fastest among mid-major competitors. Miller has tallied 13 individual wins this season and holds school records in the 50 freestyle (22.13), 100 freestyle (48.66) and 100 butterfly (53.62). As a result of her efforts, Miller has collected three MVC Swimmer of the Week honors this season (Oct. 13, Nov. 23, Dec. 7). The St. Louis, Mo., native has garnered 20 career gold medals at the MVC Championships and is a four-time All-MVC First-Team selection.

Howell About That

Senior Libby Howell will look to continue her historic championship performance as she is the only swimmer in MVC history to go 12-for-12 in individual events throughout her career. Howell has tallied seven wins this season in individual events. She currently holds school records in the 200-yard (1:46.51), 1000-yard (9:59.57), and 1650-yard (16:28.04) freestyles. Howell was named MVC Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 10. The Bixby, Okla., native has garnered 23 career gold medals at the MVC Championships and is a four-time All-MVC First-Team selection.

Experience is Key

First-Team All-MVC returnees include Miller, Howell, Alessia Puleo, Anna Lucas, Sami Roemer, Grace Beahan, Vera Margula, Yuyila Zubina, Kellie Fischer, Cabrini Johnson and Kelly Sego. Second-team returnees feature Ulyana Zubina, Adriana Avila, Jordan Wenner and Sam Hietpas. The Bears' All-MVC returnees have combined for 30 individual wins this season. Overall, the MSU roster features 22 returning letterwinners and eight newcomers this season.

Bears Hitting the Books

The Missouri State women's swimming & diving team was selected by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) as a Scholar All-America Team, the organization announced on Jan. 25. The MSU women posted a 3.46 GPA, which makes them eligible for the Intercollegiate Coach Association Coalition All-Sport Academic Standings. Teams were selected based on their Fall 2021 grade point averages and represent 18,029 student-athletes.

Family Ties

The Missouri State swimming and diving rosters feature two sets of siblings. Sisters Jordan and Kelsey Boyce, and twin sisters Ulyana and Yuliya Zubina. Libby Howell's older sister, Quincy, also swam at Missouri State from 2013 to 2017.

Bears from Abroad

Four Swim Bears hail from outside the United States: Vera Margula (Szczecin, Poland), Alessia Puleo (Cambiago, Italy), and Ulyana and Yuliya Zubina (Gomel, Belarus).

Women's Bear Bites

The Bears (123-114) earned a hard-fought victory against Drury their last time out on Dec. 17. MSU has yet to compete in 2022 as its meet at Drury last month was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Sam Hietpas holds an MVC-best time of 16:51.38 in the 1,650 freestyle, which she accomplished at the Purdue Invitational on Nov. 19.
Miller holds MVC-best times in the 50 (22.13), 100 (48.70) and 200 (1:47.07) freestyles in addition to the 50 (25.39) and 100 (54.03) butterflies.
Howell holds top MVC times in the 500 (4:48.47) and 1,000 (10:04.99) freestyles.
Kelly Sego has an MVC-best time of 4:24.70 in the 400 IM, which she achieved on Nov. 6 against Indiana State.
In relay times, MSU has the top times among all Valley competitors in the 200 (1:33.36),400 (3:20.65) and 800 (7:29.30) freestyle relays. The Bears have an MVC-best time of 1:39.62 in the 200 medley relay.
Adrianna Avila leads the Bears on the boards this season with marks of 256.57 on the 1-meter boards and 269.10 in 3-meter diving.
Hailey Rissinger was honored as the MVC Diver of the Week on Dec. 7 after posting scores of 223.65 on the 1-meter boards and 236.79 in 3-meter diving.
The Bears fell (189.50-108.50) in a hard-fought dual against 19th-ranked Mizzou on Dec. 4.
The Bears have defeated South Dakota, (Oct. 23), Indiana State (Nov. 6), and Drury (Dec. 17), this season while suffering losses to Missouri (Dec. 4), Kansas (Oct. 23) and Southern Illinois (Oct. 2).
Missouri State placed fifth against strong tournament fields at the TYR Invitational (Oct. 9) and the Purdue Invitational (Nov. 20).

Coach Dave Collins

Dave Collins (Drury, 2005) is in his 11th season as Missouri State head coach.
Collins garnered Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2021.
Under Collins' watch, the Bears have won nine MVC titles and three MAC championships.
In 2020-21, Collins guided the women to their fifth-straight Valley title and 17th overall. The MSU women ran away with the crown after winning seven individual and three relay events to finish with 929.50 points. The Bears' 381-point margin of victory was a program best. The MSU men finished second at the MAC Championships, claiming 10 conference champion citations throughout the meet. Michael Claunch qualified for the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships for the third time on both the 1-and-3 meter boards.
As head coach, Collins and the Bears' staff have produced 45 all-MVC first team selections and 22 all-MAC first-teamers. Collins has also coached six conference swimmers of the year, a list that includes Anna Miller (2021), Dora Kiss (2016, '12), Lauren Pavel (2015, '17), Renata Sander (2011-14) and Uvis Kalnins (2014). Academically, with team GPAs of 3.0 or higher, both Bear squads have annually earned CSCAA Scholar All-America team honors.
Since his arrival at Missouri State, the Bears have broken all men's and women's school records in the non-freestyle events.
Collins has taken the Bears' recruiting efforts to new heights. He and his coaching staff are responsible for signing Missouri State's first top-100 recruit: 2012 Olympian Uvis Kalnins of Latvia. CollegeSwimming.com listed Kalnins as the No. 68 overall swimmer in the 2012 recruiting class.
Before becoming head coach, Collins served as an assistant for four seasons at Missouri State under MSU Hall of Famer Jack Steck.

Take a Look Ahead

The MVC Championships conclude the 2021-22 slate for the Missouri State women. The MSU men will compete in the MAC Championships, March 3-5 in Carbondale, Ill.

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