Oct. 12, 2006

The Missouri men's and women's swimming and diving teams will travel to Lincoln, Neb., for a pair of meets this weekend, beginning with the Big 12 Relays on Friday at the Devaney Center Natatorium.

The event features 16 men's and women's relays and four diving competitions. Last season the Mizzou men finished second in the Relays, while the women posted a third-place showing. Additionally, the men's squad captured the 200-yard Medley Relay.

"It's (the Big 12 Relays) a good event to get everyone together early in the season and promote the Big 12 Conference," MU head coach Brian Hoffer said. "You get to race for a lot of times and can evaluate your newer people in a competition setting."

At 9 a.m. on Saturday, both MU teams will face Texas A&M in a dual meet in Lincoln. Last year in Columbia, Missouri's men captured a 188-105 win over A&M, with the Aggie women defeating the Tiger women, 183.5-116.5. A&M's women finished 11th at the 2006 NCAA Championships and their men finished in the top-25 for the 12th-consecutive year.

"Anytime you go against a team like A&M it makes you better," Hoffer said. "We'll do whatever we can to race them. It's a good meet and we are excited about the opportunity."

The next home event for Mizzou comes on Friday, Oct. 27, when the women host Kansas at the Mizzou Aquatic Center at 6 p.m.