MVC Swimming and Diving Championship Preview

The Saluki women's swimming and diving team has worked up to this week all season long and its finally here. The Saluki women will compete in the MVC Swimming and Diving Championships this week starting on Wednesday, Feb. 14 and ending on Saturday Feb. 17.

Swimming Salukis

The Saluki women have had a great regular season and are hoping to cap it off as Conference Champions on Saturday.

If the Salukis were to win, it would be the team's 16^th Missouri Valley Conference Championship and the first since 2016. Southern's women's team has had a lot of success this season against MVC programs, outperforming them five of the six times they've face them. The only Saluki loss to an MVC program came in October when Southern fell to Missouri State 138-105 on Oct. 7.

Southern will take four swimmers that have won at least one individual Conference championship to the meet and 19 swimmers are still on the roster from the 2016 MVC Championship team.

Coach Walker's Thoughts

You won your last two meets leading into Conference. How pleased are you with the last two meets?

"I was very pleased. We were able to accomplish just about everything that we're looking for towards the end of the season in preparation for the championship. I was extremely excited about where we are. I'm excited for them."

No competition this past weekend so you get a little more rest. What did the team focus on?

"We focused on being us and relaxing a little bit. Things tend to boil up and tensions can get a little high. We just settled them down and relaxed."

You guys were selected second in the poll behind Missouri State. What needs to happen this week for you guys to win and surprise some people."

I think number one, we need focus on ourselves and not look at polls. The polls are a prediction and nothing has happened yet. We can only control what we can control and not worry about what everyone else is doing. As long as we're doing that, I think we've got a fairly good shot."

Nationally-Ranked Salukis

(Top-100 individual times and scores)

Women's 1,650-yard freestyle
- Bryn Handley | 16:34.46 | 69^th in Division I
Women's one-meter dive
- Beibei Ji | 310.95 |59th in Division I
- Baobao Ji | 304.95 | 74th in Division I

Top Dawgs

(Conference leading times)

Women's 500-yard freestyle
- Bryn Handley | 4:52.72
Women's 1,650-yard freestyle
- Bryn Handley | 16:34.46
Women's one-meter diving
- Beibei Ji | 310.95

Getting Recognized

On the women's side, Seniors McKenna Avery and Chandler Ott are both about a second off of qualifying standards for the 50-yard freestyle. The B cut standard is 22.99 and Avery and Ott have swam the event in 23.84 and 23.99 respectively this season. Handley is close to qualifying in the 500 and 1,650-yard freestyle. She is less that a second off of the 4:47.79 standard in the 500-yard freestyle and just over a second off of the 1,650-yard freestyle standard. Beibei and Baobao Ji and Senior Rachel Williams both have posted scores that qualify them for the NCAA Zone Diving Meet in March. Beibei and Baobao have qualified for the one and three-meter dives and Williams posted a score good enough to compete in the one-meter dive at Zones.

Pre-Championship Poll

Place               Team (First-Place Votes)       Points
1st                   Missouri State (8)                   64
2nd                  Southern Illinois                      56
3rd                   Northern Iowa                        47
4th                   Illinois State                            41
5th                   Evansville                                28
6th (tied)         Indiana State                          21
6th (tied)         Little Rock                               21
8th                   Valparaiso                               10

Salukis vs. the Valley

Southern has faced MVC teams six times this year. The results from those meeting are as follows.
9/22-23 SIU @ Evansville W, 97-49
10/7 SIU @ Missouri State L, 138-105
10/28 SIU @ Illinois State W, 194-106
1/13 @ Arkansas – Little Rock W, 224-60
1/27 vs. Indiana State W, 189-111
2/3 vs. Evansville W, 166-72

Scouting Missouri State

The Lady Bears defeated SIU in an early season meeting in Springfield, Missouri and were picked first in the Pre-Championship Poll by the coaches of the MVC. The Lady Bears are the defending MVC Champions.

Missouri State currently leads the MVC in five events that will be swam at the MVC Swimming and Diving Championships. Liberty Howell leads the Valley in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.95. She is just four tenths of a second faster than SIU's Bryn Handley who is second in the event. Sarah Allegri is first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.61, which is good for an NCAA B Cut. Emma Wall is first in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly. MSU also possesses the fastest 400-yard free and medley relays in the MVC.

The team returns two swimmers that won individual Conference Championships from last season. Wall was the Conference champ in to 200-yard butterfly and Sydney Zupan, who is a senior, won the 100-yard backstroke.

Scouting Northern Iowa

The Panthers were selected third in the Pre-Championship Poll and will host this year's MVC Swimming and Diving Championships.

The Panthers have five conference-leading times, three of which are held by Katie Taylor. She's first in the 200 and 400-yard IM as well as the 200-yard backstroke. Crystal Florman is fastest in the Conference in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.98. The Panthers also have an MVC-leading relay time in the 200-yard medley relay.

Florman was a Conference Champion in the 100-yard butterfly and Taylor won the 200-yard backstroke and 400-yard IM last year at the MVC Swimming and Diving Championships. The Panthers also bring back Molly Lembezeder who won the 50 and 100-yard freestyle at the MVC Championships both of the last two seasons.

Scouting Illinois State

The Redbirds were picked fourth and have a swimmer with two Conference leading times.

Jensen Keck is first in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke in the MVC. In the 100-yard breaststroke she was first with a time of 1:02.32. In the 200-yard breaststroke 2:16.51 in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Scouting Evansville

Evansville was selected fifth and has one swimmer with a conference leading time. Danielle Freeman is the fastest in the MVC in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.98. She's also second in the 100-free and third in the 200-yard freestyle. In diving, the Purple Aces return Courtney Coverdale, who was the MVC Diver of the Year in the 2016-17 season.

Scouting Indiana State

The Sycamores are tied for sixth in the Pre-Championship Poll with Arkansas – Little Rock.

Southern defeated Indiana State earlier this year at home 189-111. Indiana State doesn't have any Conference leading swimmers, but have three with times in the top-five of the MVC. Bianca Saez-Illobre is fourth in the MVC in the 200-yard breaststroke and is fifth in the 400-yard IM. Kendall Hansen is fifth in the 200-yard backstroke.

Scouting Arkansas – Little Rock

Arkansas – Little Rock is tied for sixth in the Pre-Championship Poll with Indiana State.

The Trojans' Sierra Thain leads the MVC in the three-meter dive with a score of 387.98. Her score is good for 12^th in the NCAA. UALR also return Tori Fryar who made the All-Conference team last season with a third-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle.

Scouting Valparaiso

This has been Valparaiso's first season in the MVC and they were selected last by the coaches of the MVC in Pre-Championship Poll.

The Crusaders do not have any times or scores that rank within the top-10 of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

McKenna Avery

Bryn Handley

Baobao Ji

Beibei Ji

Eli Mercado

Chandler Ott

Chris Phillips

Rachel Williams

Michael Wolfe

Scoreboard

Southern Illinoise University Athletics