Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women's Swimming and Diving to host MVC Championships
02/10/2010 | 12:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
Feb. 10, 2010
By Dana Ingraham
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University will host the 2010 State Farm/Missouri Valley Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 11-13.
This marks the 16th year that SIU will host the three-day event, as the Saluki women welcome Evansville, Illinois State, Missouri State, and Northern Iowa.
Missouri State returns as the defending champion for the past two years, and as this year's pre-championship favorite. Illinois State is picked to finish second and Southern Illinois is again picked to finish third.
Although SIU finished third last year, 2009 proved to be a record-breaking year for the MVC Championships. The five participating teams combined to break seven pool records, 12 MVC records, and 13 MVC meet records.
The Salukis posted a 4-3 record in dual meets this season. SIU holds a total of 10 top times on the MVC best list, led by the freestyle duo of Therese Mattsson and Kirsten Groome who collectively own the top spots in each of their respective events.
SIU has been recognized by the Valley multiple times throughout the season, fielding the Swimmer of the Week five times this year. Beginning Thursday, Southern will be looking for its first outright championship since the 2006-07 season, and head coach Rick Walker is confident about his team's chances.
"I think our focus has to be on what we can control, and getting the job done with our personnel," Walker said. "Our coaches and our athletes are expecting to do well and we are hoping we can build upon last year's breakout performance."
Meet Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 11: Preliminaries 11 a.m. - Finals 6 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 12: Preliminaries 11 a.m. - Finals 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 13: Preliminaries 10 a.m. - Finals 4 p.m.
For more information on the State Farm/MVC Swimming and Diving Championships please visit the MVC Championship Central website.
Players Mentioned
