ST. LOUIS – The Missouri State women’s swimming & diving team has been selected as the favorite to once again win the Missouri Valley Conference championship, the league announced Wednesday morning. This marks the eighth straight year the Bears have placed at the top of the poll voted on by league coaches. MSU men’s swimming & diving was picked to finish second in the MVC.
“Our performance at last year’s MVC meet was one of our best,” head coach Dave Collins said. “The leadership of our senior class was amazing and put us in position to perform at a very high level. Their example is what we need this year’s team to follow and execute with their own twist. I am confident that our very large sophomore class will play a big role in our success this year.”
Collins enters his 15th season as head coach and will look for his 13th women’s conference championship. The Bears have won eight straight women’s MVC championships and 20 of the last 22 MVC titles. Collins has also won an MVC record eight conference Coach of the Year awards, including the last five in a row.
Women’s swimming & diving earned 78 points and six of the nine first-place votes in this year’s poll. Indiana State, the MVC runner-up the last two seasons, took the remaining three first-place votes and earned 74 points in the pool. Southern Illinois (63), Illinois State (53), Little Rock (40), Northern Iowa (37), UIC (33), Evansville (17) and Valparaiso (10) round out the rest of the women’s pool.
Men’s swimming & diving returns to the MVC for the first time since the 2002-03 season after a three-year stint in the Sun Belt and spending the last 15 years competing in the Mid-American Conference. Missouri State is picked to finish second in the preseason poll with 42 points and one first-place vote. Four-time reigning MAC champion Miami (Ohio) tops the poll with 47 points and the remaining six first-place votes. Southern Illinois (37), UIC (26), Ball State (21), Evansville (14) and Valparaiso (9) complete the men’s poll.
Missouri State won three MAC titles all under Collins in 2014, 2018 and 2020. The Bears have finished runner-up in the MAC in back-to-back seasons.
“I really like the group we have this year,” Collins said. “With the bulk of our team in their final two years, they have the experience to build from and challenge for the top spot at the MVC Championships. We will spend the fall evaluating and maybe making a few event adjustments for some guys that will hopefully produce more points individually at the championship.”
Both the men’s and women’s polls mirror the results of last year’s women’s MVC and men’s MAC championship results except for Little Rock being picked ahead of Northern Iowa on the women’s side.
MSU women’s & diving returns 12 of its 17 MVC first-team and honorable selections from last season: Lana Janson, Samantha Roemer, Cabrini Johnson, Sophia Coleta, Lindsey Hervey, Payton Smith, Caitlyn Friebe, Ainsley Jenkins, Lauren Chaney, Anika Lam, Olivia Sala, Hadleigh Henslee and Evie Kolb.
The men’s team returns 2024 MAC first-team selections Brunno Suzuki-Tomiyama and Jack Grandy as well as second-team selections Luigi Maciel da Silva and Reese Hodgins.
Missouri State opens the 2024-25 season on the road against MVC rival Southern Illinois for a two-day meet starting Friday, Oct. 4 at Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium.
The MVC men’s swimming & diving championship will take place from Feb. 19-22 at Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center in Oxford, Ohio. The women’s swimming & diving championships will go from Feb. 26 to March 1 at Waukee Community School District Natatorium in Waukee, Iowa.
Women’s Preseason Poll
1. Missouri State – 78 (6)
2. Indiana State – 74 (3)
3. Southern Illinois – 63
4. Illinois State – 53
5. Little Rock – 40
6. Northern Iowa – 37
7. UIC – 33
8. Evansville – 17
9. Valparaiso – 10
Men’s Preseason Poll
1. Miami (Ohio) – 47 (6)
2. Missouri State – 42 (1)
3. Southern Illinois – 37
4. UIC – 26
5. Ball State – 21
6. Evansville – 14
7. Valparaiso – 9
