Jan. 15, 2004

Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri men and women's swimming and diving teams will travel to Springfield, Mo. this weekend to battle in-state opponents Drury University and Southwest Missouri State University.

The Drury men's team is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation and the women's team is No. 3 in Division II schools. In their last meet, Drury's men and women's teams both finished second at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Christmas Invitational.

The Missouri men (1-4) are looking to get back on track after two losses last weekend to #7 Arizona and Purdue. In their last meeting with Drury, the Missouri men and women both came out victorious.

"Drury has an excellent team and has several swimmers and divers that have a lot of experience in championship competitions. We are looking for our men to have a good match-with Drury and we are looking for our women to go in and swim fast and hope that both teams get a win," said Brian Hoffer, head Missouri swimming coach.

On Saturday the Tigers will square off against the Southwest Missouri State Bears. In their last meet, both the SMS men's and women's teams finished first at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Christmas Invitational. The SMS men are currently 4-1 on the season while the women are 3-4. Two of the Lady Bears losses have come to Nebraska and Kansas, two teams that the Missouri women defeated.

In their last meeting, the Missouri men's and women's teams defeated SMS.

"SMS has a much improved women's team. It seems that each year we compete against them they are a better team. Their swimmers will really challenge us on Saturday and we are going to have to perform well and swim fast to win this meet," said Hoffer.