Feb. 22, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
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After a challenging season, the Missouri men's and women's swimming and diving team head to the campus of Texas A&M for the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships this week. The meet will last over the course of four days beginning Wednesday afternoon at the Student Recreation Natatorium Center with the start of the men's 1-meter diving competition. The Tigers are looking to capitalize on their success from last year, as the men's team scored the highest finish ever coming in second, while the women's squad finished third.
Last Time Out
Mizzou used last weekend as a solid tune-up for this weekend's conference championships, by swimming with future, current and former Olympians in the Missouri Grand Prix hosted by USA Swimming. The three day meet pushed the Tigers against some of the world's best, and came out on the other side with four total medals. Lauren Lavigna earned the only gold, while Dominique Bouchard and Kim Jasmer earned silver medals and Lisa Nathanson earned a bronze medal. Jan Konarzewski made two "A" final appearances during the weekend as well.
The Meet
The Big 12 has been one of the strongest conferences in the country when it comes to swimming and diving, and this year is no different with both Texas' men's and women's teams ranked in the top three teams in the country in the Collegeswimming.com/CSCAA Poll. The Texas A&M men's and women's squads are also ranked in the top 20 nationally, with the women coming in seventh and men 19th.
The Texas men have only lost one dual this year and only twice on the season. Both losses came at the hands of Pac-10 power Arizona. Mizzou faced off with Texas and Texas A&M earlier this year in the Southwest Collegiate Plunge in Dallas, and was the first time all three Big 12 rivals faced off together this year. The Longhorn women's team competed in Missouri twice this year, first in a dual win over the Tigers and in the Big 12 relays where they finished second. Like the Texas men, the Longhorns' only defeats have come at the hands of the Wildcats.
The Aggie men have only competed seven times this year, competing against teams from the Ivy League, SEC and more, losing to Auburn and Texas in the process. The Texas A&M women have won nine meets overall and the last seven overall, falling only in a close dual with Texas in Austin. Included in that was the Big 12 Relays victory over the Longhorns and Tigers in Columbia earlier this season.
Mizzou will need their best effort against one of the stronger fields the Big 12 has produced over the course of the 2009-10 season, especially if they want to dethrone the Texas men who have won every Big 12 swimming and diving title, or be the only women's team besides Texas, Texas A&M and Nebraska to have won a conference championship. Live stats of the meet can be followed at http://dhbrown.net/2010Big12/?DB_OEM_ID=10410.