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Oct. 25, 2005

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 20 Missouri Tigers (0-1-1, 0-1-1 Big 12) will travel to Lawrence, Kan., on Friday evening for a conference dual meet with the Kansas Jayhawks (1-1, 0-0) at 6 p.m. One-and-a-half Border Showdown points will be awarded to the winning school.

The Tigers have taken the last five meetings in the water between the two schools, dating back to the 2000-01 season.

"We finally beat them a few years ago, and it's been unbelievable ever since," Mizzou head coach Brian Hoffer said. "We've come from behind two years in a row - I don't even know how, but we did. This year, we're deeper than we've been in the past, and that will be a key to this meet."

Mizzou will hit the water in a competitive setting for the first time since they swam three times in as many days just under two weeks ago. That weekend featured a tie of No. 7, a third-place finish in the Big 12 Relays and a defeat at the hands of No. 10 Texas A&M and vaulted the Tigers into the rankings for the first time in more than a year.

The Jayhawks placed fourth in the Big 12 Relays and enter Friday's action after defeating Truman State in their last outing, on Oct. 16.

"We feel like we can match up with them pretty well," Hoffer said. "They're strong in the sprint fly and breast, so we'll be looking for good swims from Liz Schoborg and Jill Bastien to help us hang in there in those events."

Mizzou was spurred on by a 1-2-3 finish in the three-meter dive and first-place finishes in two of the last three swimming events in a come-from-behind 157-144 win in Columbia last season.

"Rankings don't matter between these two teams," Hoffer said. "It's going to be a great meet. We'd be ready to race Kansas any day of the week."

The Tiger swimmers won't be the only Mizzou student-athletes vying for Border Showdown points this weekend. The football and women's soccer teams will join the swim team in Lawrence, where both will look to pick up three points, while the men's and women's cross country teams will both head to Waco, Texas, for the Big 12 Championships and a chance to earn one point each. Mizzou currently holds a 1.5-0 edge in the annual competition courtesy of a 3-0 sweep of the Jayhawks by the volleyball team on Oct. 15.

For all the latest on Mizzou swimming and diving, as well as Border Showdown standings, visit www.mutigers.com.