IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Missouri State women's swimming and diving team had an historic day three at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships by winning five of six events and setting three conference records on its way to a 254.5-point performance.
"What a fun night," head coach
Dave Collins said. "I'm so proud of all the performances tonight. This group deserves all the success they are experiencing, and I am happy to see it happen for them. I'm looking forward to another great day tomorrow."
Anna Miller rewrote her name into the MVC and MSU record books by posting a time of 52.96 to win the 100 butterfly finals. It was her third-straight win in the 100 fly finals. The reigning Valley Swimmer of the Year holds three MVC records and has won 25 career golds at the MVC Championships. Teammates Sami Roemer continued her strong showing as the native Iowan placed second with a mark of 54.37, while
Ulyana Zubina (54.93) followed in fourth.
"I am proud to be a Bear tonight," said Miller. "We had a really dominant session. It was nice to have a personal best and MVC record in the 100 butterfly. I am also proud of all the record-breaking performances by my teammates."
Kelly Sego won an absolute thriller in the 400 IM finals by registering a career-best 4:21.41 to hold off Indiana State's Alexa Szadorski's comeback attempt and beating her to the wall by one-fifth of a second. The win was Sego's first-career individual title at the MVC Championships.
The Bears continued their string of success in the 200 freestyle finals by going 1-2, with
Libby Howell winning the event with an MVC and MSU record mark of 1:46.57.
Anna Lucas took second place by swimming a 1:50.07.
Jordan Wenner (1:50.46) and
Grace Beahan (1:53.47) rounded out the Missouri State effort by finishing sixth and eighth, respectively.
"It was a fun night," Howell expressed. "I enjoyed swimming the 200 finals with a few of my teammates. It was awesome to get the win as well."
Howell now has a 14-0 career record in individual events at the MVC Championships while collecting 27 golds.
Missouri State was also dominant in the 100 breaststroke finals as the Bears swept the top-three positions.
Yuliya Zubina won the event with a conference and school-record time of 1:00.98 for her first career individual title at the MVC Championships. The previous MVC record time of 1:01.15 was accomplished by Miroslava Zaborska of SIU in 2021.
Cabrini Johnson (1:01.68) and
Alessia Puleo (1:02.52) completed the sweep for MSU by taking second and third place, sequentially.
"It felt really good to get my first career title," Zubina said. "I am very proud of my teammates. They were extremely supportive which helped a lot."
Celia Pulido won the 100 backstroke finals with an MVC-record time of 52.69.
Hannah Amelung represented MSU with a sixth-place finish by clocking a 55.68.
The Bears grabbed their final win of the evening in the 400 medley relay as Sego,
Yuliya Zubina, Roemer and Howell used an impressive display of teamwork enroute to clocking a time of 3:40.09.
Adriana Avila and
Hailey Rissinger had strong showings in preliminary 3-meter diving action as Avila took the early lead in the competition with a score of 267.80, while Rissinger recorded a mark of 238.5 to sit in fifth, as the duo will compete in the finals Saturday evening.
The MVC Championships will conclude Saturday with preliminary events starting at 11 a.m. and the finals beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday's schedule includes the 1,650 freestyle, 200 Backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 3-meter diving finals, and 400 freestyle relay.
For all the latest information on the Missouri State swimming and diving team, visit missouristatebears.com or follow @MoStateSwim on Twitter.
Team Standings (through 13 of 19 events)
| 1. |
Missouri State |
575.5 |
| 2. |
UNI |
312 |
| 3. |
Illinois State |
306.5 |
| 4 |
SIU |
305.5 |
| 5 |
Indiana State |
298.5 |
| 6 |
Evansville |
223 |
| 7 |
Little Rock |
205 |
| 8 |
Valparaiso |
46 |
