Jan. 9, 2009

The Missouri nationally-ranked men's and women's swimming and diving teams return to the pool this weekend to open the 2009-portion of their schedule. The Tigers will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., where the No. 22 men (2-1, 1-0 Big 12) will take on the No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats. The No. 23 women (1-2, 0-1 Big 12) will battle both the Wildcats and the No. 22 Arkansas Razorbacks.

"This is a meet we're looking forward to," said Missouri Head Coach Brian Hoffer. "It should be a lot of fun to swim against two SEC teams."

The competition is scheduled to start on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT at the Arkansas Natatorium.

Scouting Kentucky

Kentucky's men and women both enter this meet with a 1-4 record on the year, with each squad recording their lone victory against IUPUI. However, Kentucky's losses have come against some of the nation's elite, including Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia and LSU, all top-25 teams. The Tigers last faced Kentucky in Lexington in 2002, where the Wildcats beat out the Tigers by a 166-133 final.

Scouting Arkansas

The No. 22 Razorbacks enter the dual with Missouri boasting a 6-1 record on the year. Arkansas has rallied off six straight wins on the year, as their only loss came in the season opener against No. 13 Tennessee. The Razorbacks look to avenge last year's heartbreaking 151-149 loss to Mizzou in Columbia. Arkansas leads the all-time series against the Tigers, 12-6, though the Razorbacks haven't defeated Missouri since the 1994 season.