Jan. 26, 2005

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri men's swimming and diving (5-1, 0-1 Big 12) team will look to add two more wins to its total when they take on Iowa (2-7, 0-4) and Penn State (4-1, 0-0) in a double dual meet this weekend in Iowa City.

The Tigers enter the weekend riding a five-meet winning streak, having defeated Drury, 181-118, in their last outing. Senior Matt North picked up three individual wins, senior Chris McCrary added two and the 400 medley relay team of junior Chris Lukas, North, McCrary and freshman Bennett Clark set an MU pool record (3:23.01) against the Panthers.

Iowa dropped a dual meet decision to Minnesota, 194-89, in their last outing, and the Nittany Lions earned a 143-99 win over Rutgers the last time they swam.

"We've never beaten Iowa on the road, and we've had a tough time with them overall, so that will be a challenge for us," Missouri head coach Brian Hoffer said. "We don't know much about Penn State, but we've researched them extensively. We need to match up with them in the freestyle, from distance all the way down to sprint. If we do that, we should be alright in the other strokes."

Last season, the Hawkeyes came to Columbia and dealt the Mizzou men a 166-129 loss. Last year's Tigers, however, finished 1-5. The squad is 5-1 entering the meet this weekend.

"I'm very happy with where we're at this year," Hoffer said. "It's been quite a turnaround, from 1-5 to 5-1."

This weekend's double dual meet is the last dual action for the Mizzou men's team this season. After leaving Iowa City, the team is off for nearly a month, and will return to the pool on February 23 for the first day of the Big 12 Championships.