INDIANAPOLIS – Missouri State's Anna Miller (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) was selected to participate in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Championships, the organization announced Tuesday (March 1). Miller's selection makes her the first member of the MSU women's program to participate at the NCAA Division I Championships. 

"It has been a major goal of our staff to have Missouri State represented at the Women's NCAA Championships," head coach Dave Collins said. "Although it took longer than we had hoped, Anna is the perfect person to make history as the first female NCAA qualifier at Missouri State. What makes this accomplishment even more special is that she made the commitment to return for her fifth season to make it happen. Her dedication and commitment have never wavered and it is awesome to see the sport reward her with this experience."

Miller qualified by posting NCAA B-standard times of 22.08 and 48.45 while winning the 50 and 100 freestyles, respectively, at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships, Feb. 16-19.

"I am so excited to be able to represent Missouri State swimming on the national level for the first time in our women's program history," Miller said. "I think it is impactful for the program because it opens that door for future girls to do the same thing."
 
At the MVC Championships, the fifth-year senior won all three of her events (50 freestyle: 22.08, 100 freestyle: 48.45, 100 butterfly: 52.96) while setting new MSU and MVC records in each. She also played a role in four relay wins (400 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 800 freestyle, 200 medley) during the four-day event. 

"Qualifying for nationals was one of my goals in coming back for a fifth season," Miller stated. "When our conference meet got postponed in 2021 to after the NCAA championships, it was hard knowing that it was not going to be a possibility. I knew that this was something that I wanted to strive for, so that was one of the big reasons for my return."

Miller and Celia Pulido of Southern Illinois are the first Valley swimmers to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Kristen Gromme of Southern Illinois qualified for the 500 and 1,650 freestyles in 2010.

"I am most looking forward to watching the best swimmers in the country compete," Miller remarked. "I am hoping I can swim faster than I did at conference a few weeks ago, but I'm just excited to be able to put the MSU women's swim team on the map at the national level, no matter how I do."

Miller is set to compete in the 50 freestyle prelims on Thursday, March 17 at 9 a.m. and the 100 freestyle prelims, which will take place on Saturday, March 19 at 9 a.m. All four days will be televised on the WatchESPN app. The 2022 NCAA Championships run March 16-19 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.

The championships will mark the end of her storied collegiate career that has featured 27 MVC gold medals, 11 individual MVC titles, three school records (50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly), and five first-team All-MVC selections.

"After competing at the collegiate level for five years now, I will cherish the lessons that I've learned the most out of everything," Miller reflected. "Swimming has taught me a lot about myself and has also introduced me to some of the best people in my life. These are the things I can take with me when I am finished with the sport and I'm so glad I was able to have these experiences here at Missouri State."