Wednesday, February 21
Evansville, Ind. / Deaconess Aquatic Center
6:00 p.m.
Missouri State University
vs
MVC Women's Championships - Day 1
Women’s Swimming & Diving Ready for MVC Championships
February 20, 2024 | Swimming and Diving
| 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Swimming & Diving Championships | |
| Dates and Times | Feb. 21 (Finals: 6:00 p.m.) | Feb. 22-24 (Prelims: 10:30 a.m., Finals: 6:00 p.m.) |
| Location | Evansville, Indiana |
| Site | Deaconess Aquatics Center |
| Live Results | Meet Mobile or https://swimevansville.org/results/ |
| Watch | UE Athletics YouTube Channel |
| Missouri State | Swimming & Diving Home Page | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook |
SPRINGFIELD - The Missouri State women's swimming & diving team heads to Evansville, Indiana for the 2024 MVC Women's Championships in hopes of claiming an eighth straight title. The four-day meet is set to begin on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 6:00 p.m. and conclude on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Deaconess Aquatics Center. Event finals start at 6 p.m. each day with prelims running in the mornings.
The meet will stream live on the UE Athletics YouTube channel. Live scoring and results can be found here or on the Meet Mobile app.
Bears Splashes
- Missouri State is looking for its eighth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championship dating back to 2017. The Bears have won seven straight MVC crowns and 19 of the last 21.
- A championship this year would match Missouri State's conference record of eight consecutive team titles previously achieved from 2008 to 2015.
- Last season, Missouri State scored a record 1,326 points to run away with its seventh consecutive title. That marked the first time a championship team cracked 1,000 in points since Southern Illinois earned 1,067.5 points to win the title in the 1983-84 season.
- Head coach Dave Collins has secured 11 career MVC titles at the helm. He has also won MVC Swimming Coach of the Year seven times, including each of the last four years.
- This year's iteration of Bears swimming consists of nine returning all-conference swimmers from last season such as sophomore Sophia Coleta, junior Payton Smith and sophomore Ainsley Jenkins. The list of 2023 all-conference swimmers also includes seniors Anna Lucas, Kelly Sego, Samantha Roemer, Lily DeSpain, Jordan Wenner and Cabrini Johnson.
A handful of current Missouri State Bears have had huge success in the MVC Championship across their years in Springfield.
- Wenner and Lucas were among the record-breaking quartet that broke the MVC championship and overall record in the 200-yard freestyle relay two years ago with a time of 1:31.19 alongside former Bears Anna Miller and Yuliya Zubina.
- The same group also set a new overall record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:19.76 in 2022. Missouri State owns the best MVC time in that event this season (3:21.73) that the Bears earned at the Purdue Invitational last November.
- Lucas and Roemer also set the MVC record in the 800-yard freestyle relay (7:14.09) alongside Miller and Libby Howell on Feb. 16, 2022.
- Continuing the trend, Roemer and Sego helped take the MVC overall and championship record in the 200-yard medley relay (1:38.60) on the same day.
- Roemer is the lone remaining Bear who set the 400-yard medley MVC championship record of 3:38.89 back in 2021, doing so with Howell, Yuliya Zubina and Miller.
- Missouri State has won gold in the last four 100-yard freestyle events at the MVC Championships. Wenner won the event last year with a time of 50.03 and enters this year's championship with the best MVC time in the event this season (49.64).
- Lucas is the defending MVC 500-yard freestyle champion (4:51.27), marking the sixth straight year a Bear has won that event and the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.
- Roemer was last year's 100-yard butterfly winner (53.31), continuing a four-year streak of Bears winning the event. She enters this year's championships with the fourth-fastest MVC time in the 100 fly this season (54.16).
- Two Bears have won the last two 400 IM conference championships. Sego won the 2022 title in the 400 IM with a time of 4:21.42. The following year, DeSpain won the event with a 4:17.90. This season, DeSpain has to top two times in the event with the fastest being 4:19.13 at the Purdue Invitational.
- Missouri State has won the last six 200, 400 and 800-yard freestyle relay championships.
- The Bears have won the last three 200 and 400-yard medley relay titles.
1. Indiana State – 76 points (4 first-place votes)
2. Missouri State – 74 points (4 first-place votes)
3. Southern Illinois – 65 points (1 first-place vote)
4. Illinois State – 52 points
5. Northern Iowa – 47 points
6. UIC – 32 points
7. Little Rock – 30 points
8. Evansville – 18 points
9. Valparaiso – 11 points
Order of Events
Wednesday, Feb. 21
Finals: 6:00 p.m. CT (Watch)
- 200-yard Medley Relay
45-minute break (Team Diving Event)
- 800-yard Freestyle Relay
Thursday, Feb. 22
Prelims: 10:30 a.m. CT (Watch)
- 500-yard Freestyle
- 200-yard IM
- 50-yard Freestyle
- 1-meter Diving Prelims (Watch)
- 1-meter Diving Consolation (9-16) (Watch)
Finals: 6:00 p.m. CT (Watch)
- 500-yard Freestyle
- 200-yard IM
- 50-yard Freestyle
- 1-meter Diving Finals (1-8) (Watch)
- 200-yard Freestyle Relay
Friday, Feb. 23
Prelims: 10:30 a.m. CT (Watch)
- 100-yard Butterfly
- 400-yard IM
- 200-yard Freestyle
- 100-yard Breaststroke
- 100-yard Backstroke
- 3-meter Diving Prelims (Watch)
Finals: 6:00 p.m. CT (Watch)
- 100-yard Butterfly
- 400-yard IM
- 200-yard Freestyle
- 100-yard Breaststroke
- 100-yard Backstroke
- 3-meter Diving Consolation (9-16) (Watch)
- 400-yard Medley Relay
Saturday, Feb. 24
Prelims: 10:30 a.m. CT (Watch)
- 200-yard Backstroke
- 100-yard Freestyle
- 200-yard Breaststroke
- 200-yard Butterfly
- 1,650-yard Freestyle
Finals: 6:00 p.m. CT (Watch)
- 1,650-yard Freestyle
- 200-yard Backstroke
- 100-yard Freestyle
- 200-yard Breaststroke
- 200-yard Butterfly
- 3-meter Diving Finals (1-8)
- 400-yard Freestyle Relay
#BearsUnite
Players Mentioned
Free
/ Swimming and Diving
Free/IM
/ Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Swimming and Diving
Breast/Free/IM
/ Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Swimming and Diving
IM/Fly
/ Swimming and Diving
IM/Back
/ Swimming and Diving
Free/Fly
/ Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Swimming and Diving
Free/Breast
/ Swimming and DivingMonday, June 22
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
Wednesday, June 17
