Nov. 14, 2005
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - A challenging lineup of ranked foes awaits the No. 24 Missouri men's team and the Tiger women's squad when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind., this weekend for the Purdue Invite. The men will face top-25 teams Florida, Purdue and Northwestern, while the women will square of with ranked foes Florida, Tennessee and Purdue. Southern Illinois, Missouri State and the Northwestern women's squad round out the field at the three-day event.
The Tiger men haven't seen competition since their dual victory over Texas A&M on Oct. 15, and will be looking to return to race mode when they take the water this weekend.
"The guys are excited because they haven't had the opportunity to race in a month," Mizzou head coach Brian Hoffer said. "The overall goal for the weekend is to see where we're at as a team. There are some really good teams coming into this meet, so we're looking forward to seeing some really good competition."
The Mizzou women are returning to the water for the first time since their loss to rival Kansas in conference dual action. According to Hoffer, the motivation factor is running high as the Tigers look to respond against a field of ranked teams.
"We're in good shape and the women know they have something to prove," he said. "They're definitely ready to go, and I'm excited to see how they'll respond."
The Tigers have fared well this year in non-dual settings, placing first on both the men and women's side in the inaugural Show-Me-Showdown on Oct. 8 in Columbia. The Tigers also earned a second place finish by the men and a third-place finish by the women at the Big 12 Relays on Oct. 14.
The three-day Purdue Invite will follow a championship format, with each day featuring prelims in the morning and finals in the evening.
This trip marks the Tigers' first voyage to the state of Indiana since the 2003-04 season, when they took third at the Indiana Invite. Mizzou will be making its first appearance in the Purdue Invite.
"Every time you swim in the national spotlight, you want to represent yourself well," Hoffer said. "This is a great opportunity for people to see what we're all about. The bottom line, though, is that we want to swim well for ourselves because we've trained hard for this meet and we want to see results."
The meet runs from Nov. 18-20 at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind. Check www.mutigers.com for all the latest on Mizzou swimming and diving, including daily results from the Purdue Invite.