Missouri State University

Missouri State swimming and diving teams will take part in one of the biggest weekends of the year when they take on Western Illinois and Iowa in separate road meets this Friday and Saturday.

The dual with Western Illinois will be the first dual meet for the Bears and the season opener for the Leathernecks.  The Missouri State men have never lost a dual against Western Illinois, going 9-0, while the women have only lost once to the Leathernecks, with a record of 7-1.

The meet with the Hawkeyes will be one of the toughest contests for head coach Jack Steck and the Bears this season.  The Hawkeye men were ranked 30^th in the nation last season and the women are returning 14 of their top performers from last season.  Though the competition will be fierce, coach Steck thinks the Bears could surprise some people.

"It's not going to be easy for them," Steck said of the Hawkeyes. "They beat Wisconsin and everyone thinks they're going to beat Michigan State and then we come in.  We may be a mid-major program, but we are a darn good mid-major.  They will know who we are."

The Bears are coming off of an impressive showing at the Missouri Showdown in Columbia, Mo.  In that meet, the men took home first and the women finished second.  The men had several top performers, including senior Nicolas Villarroel, who swam the 100-yard backstroke in 49.35, currently the third best time in the country for that event.  For the women, freshman Marta Nogueroles swam the 500-yard freestyle in her first ever collegiate event.  Though she placed second in the event, her time of 5:03.28 is fifth all-time at Missouri State.

The Bears will begin in Macomb, Ill. at 4:00 p.m. and start in Iowa City at 11 a.m.  They will return home in time for their homecoming meet against cross-town rivals Drury University on Oct. 31.