ST. LOUIS – With the start of the 2023 Swimming & Diving Championship less than a week away, Missouri State has been selected to take home the title in a vote by the league’s head coaches. The Bears received 95 points in the voting and captured 5 first-place votes.
 
Missouri State won a sixth-straight title at the 2022 championship, and the program’s 18^th since the 2002-03 season. The team is under the leadership of 11^th-year head coach Dave Collins. The Bears are the only NCAA Division I women’s swimming and diving program to win 18 of their last 20 conference championships. 
The Bears have had an impressive season so far, including multiple first place finishes in almost all their meets. In their first meet of the season, Missouri State won all swimming events but one. In individual events, Samantha Roemer leads all Bears with 12 first-place finishes on the season. 
 
Indiana State entered the poll in second with a close 92 points, including four first-place votes. Indiana State boasts its deepest roster under Head Coach, Josh Christensen, as the Sycamores head into the 2023 Missouri Valley Championships. The Sycamores are headlined by four-time Diver of the Week Zoe Smith and returning All-Conference performers Marni Gray and Madie Rutan, while multiple ISU athletes currently sit among the Valley’s top performers on the year. ISU’s season has been highlighted by eight different school records breaking in the regular season, including Gray setting the marks in both the 50 and 100 Butterfly. Relays have also been strong for the Sycamores with ISU setting new marks in the 400 Freestyle Relay and the 200 Medley Relay. The Sycamores finished the regular season strong winning their final four dual meets.
Southern Illinois followed in third with 81 points and the final first place vote. The Salukis have a talented depth to their roster. They are led by swimmer Celia Pulido who is 2023 NCAA Championship Qualifier, 2022 MVC Freshmen Swimmer of the Year, 2022 All-MVC First Team, 2022 MVC Champion in the 100 and 200 Backstroke. SIU is led on the diving side by Farida Moussa who is the 2022-2023 1X Diver of the Week, 2022 All-MVC Honorable Mention, Junior Worlds Champion. 
  
Illinois State comes in at fourth with 68 points. The Redbirds are coming off a runner-up finish in the Valley in 2022, their highest mark since 2014. Sophomore Diver Eva Reyes, the defending Valley 1M Dive champion, has swept 1M and 3M at four meets this season. She is a two-time Valley Diver of the Week this year. Senior Madyson Morse ranks top-10 in the Valley in six events, including third in the 50 Breast (28.96), second in the 100 Breast (1:01.70) and third in the 100 Fly (55.13). Morse won the 200 IM at the 2022 Valley Championships. Sophomore Emma Feltzer is tied for first in the Valley in the 100 Free (50.73) and ranks second in the 200 Free (1:50.69) which she set in the same weekend Jan. 13-14 at UNI. 
 
Marshall follows in at fifth with and close 62 points. The Herd is led by swimmers Eszter Laban, Paige Banton and Mia McBride. Laban is currently Ranked 1^st in 500 Free & 1650 Free and Ranks 2^nd in the 400 IM in MVC. Banton sits 2^nd, 4^th, & 7^th, respectively, in the 50, 200 and 100 Breaststroke in the MVC. Three-time Freshman of the Week, McBride sits 2^nd & 3^rd, respectively, in the 50 and 100 Backstroke in the MVC. So far this season, this team has set 13 All Time Top 10 marks in Program History since this fall. Coming off a productive spring semester of racing, this team is ready to compete in their first ever Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
 
Championship host, UNI, places in sixth with 48 points. The Panthers bring back reigning MVC Diver of the Year, Taylor Hogan. Hogan scored a 270.70 in one-meter, the 6th highest score in UNI history, as well as qualified for NCAA Diving Zones in one-meter. Swimmer, Olivia Chambers is 2x Para-Swimming National Champion this season (200 and 400 I.M.) and was named to 2023 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Team in January. Northern Iowa also tied a school record on winning 12 duals this season.
 
UIC finished seventh with 44 points. The UIC women's (4-4, 1-1 MVC) swimming and diving teams opened their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference strong. They’ve competed against top 50 programs, such as Northwestern, and a talented UChicago team. In both meets, the Flames have held their own in multiple events. UIC’s top swimmers are Taira Juronis, Poleena Kovalaske, Victoria Thor, Lizzie Zeller, Kalie Landrum,and Madison Helmick. On the diving side, Ciara McCliment, Abigail Hellinga,, Kerry-Leigh Morrison are athletes to look out for.
 
Little Rock comes in eighth with 27 points. The Trojans are led by head coach, Amy Burgess, in her 14th season with the program. This is the first season since 2020 that the Trojans will have a diver competing at the MVC Championships. 4 Trojans have times within the top 16 going into conference (Jaelle Carlson, Lauren Gray, Caitlin Romprey, Gillian Boggs). 5 swimmers with their names on the Little Rock recordboard will be competing at the conference meet, while 5 returning All-MVC Honorable mention honorees will also be suited up to make a splash. 
  
Evansville follows up in ninth with 21 points. What Evansville lacks in size, the Purple Aces make up for in talent this year in the pool and on the diving boards.  Of the 11 women competing for UE, seven have either earned all-MVC honors or currently owns a part of a UE school record.  Leading the pack of returning swimmers is 2022 first team all-Valley performer Maya Cunningham, who placed third in the Valley championships in the 400 IM last year and owns a part of three school records.  Senior swimmers Sage Moore and Sarah Jahns have earned three honorable mention all-MVC honors during their time at UE, while junior backstroke specialist Iryna Tsesiul has earned honorable mention all-Valley honors twice already.  On the diving boards, junior Madison Rollett earned honorable mention all-Valley honors last year while placing sixth in the one-meter competition.
 
Rounding out the poll is Valparaiso with 12 points. The Valpo Women's Swimming team is a very youthful squad, as 12 of the 15 squad members are freshmen or sophomores. Outside of the backstroke events, underclassmen lead the Beacons in all events, highlighted by freshman Emma Schmidt, who paces the team in the free from the 200 through the 1650 as well as the 400 IM.
 
The 2023 Swimming and Diving Championship takes place February 15-18, 2023 at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, hosted by UNI.