Jan. 7, 2010

COLUMBIA, Mo. -

The Missouri men's swimming and diving team returns to the pool this weekend to face off with Missouri S&T in the first contest of the new year. After ten days off with the end of the school semester and Christmas break, the Tigers have been hitting the pool all this week in preparation for the Miners. Missouri S&T was in Columbia a month ago for the Mizzou Tiger Invite, competing against some of the best competition in the country.

 

Last Time Out

After three strong days of competition, the men's swimming and diving team claimed the Tiger Invite championship over Drury University, setting numerous meet records in the process. The squad won 11 races over the course of the meet, setting NCAA provisional qualifying times in the 200 and 400 medley relays. For his efforts, Jan Konarzewski took home Big 12 Men's Swimmer of the Week honors by winning four titles, and finishing no lower than third in seven races. Konarzewski is the second Tiger this year to earn the award, with diver Greg DeStephen earning the conference's best diver award earlier in the season.

 

The women's swimming and diving team wasted no getting off the blocks early, jumping out to a strong lead after the first day of the Tiger Invite, and winng the meet with 1109.5 points. The group also won 11 events on the weekend and set three NCAA provisional marks in the process. In the process, the squad was ranked 25th in the CSCAA/CollegeSwimming.com Division I poll.

 

The Meet

Missouri S&T enters the meet as one of the best swimming teams in the Division II ranks this year, coming in as the sixth best team in nation. The Miners qualified 12 swimmers for the NCAA DII championships this March while participating in the Tiger Invitational last month. The squad has several swimmers who rank in the top ten times in the nation while competing in the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference.

 

The event will begin at 1 p.m. with live stats of the meet available through MUTigers.com.