LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock swimming and diving has a busy weekend ahead of them, as the team heads north for tri-meets on Friday and Saturday, both of which feature conference opponents. On Friday, the Trojans will take on Southern Illinois and Lindenwood in Carbondale before swinging over to St. Louis to compete against Valparaiso and SLU.
The weekend will be the last chance for the Trojans to go up against Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) foes Southern Illinois and Valparaiso before the teams meet again at the MVC Championships in less than a month. The conference championship, now expanded to 10 teams from its previous eight, takes place from February 15 through February 18.
This Saturday will be the 10th matchup between Little Rock and SIU, with the Salukis leading 9-0. Southern Illinois, who finished second as a team in the MVC last year, was picked to finish third at this year's conference championship in the preseason poll. This weekend, Little Rock will need to rely on its freestylers to beat out SIU's depth in stroke events.
However, this weekend will feature just the second dual meeting between the Trojans and Valparaiso, where Little Rock holds the 1-0 series lead after a strong win two seasons ago. Valparaiso finished last at the 2022 MVC Championships and were chosen to finish at the bottom once again this season. While the Crusaders do not sponsor diving, they also do not have a single swimmer that has posted a faster time than a Little Rock swimmer in any given event this year.
This will be the first time that Lindenwood and Little Rock go against each other. Lindenwood, a former DII powerhouse, was recently elevated to Division I status. While the institution is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) just like the Trojans, the OVC does not sponsor swimming and diving. The Trojans and the Lions are quite comprable teams, and the final results will likely depend on both the health and grit of each program's roster in the thick of the season.
The Trojans will battle against St. Louis for the 13th time in program history. While the Bilikens hold the series lead 9-3, the last three of four meetings between the two teams went in Little Rock's favor as the team's depth has improved over the years. The Trojans have the advantage over SLU in its sprints, while the distance events may be tighter. However, Little Rock has had success in its longer events so far this month.
Click here to view the full Little Rock swimming and diving schedule.
For the latest information on Little Rock Swimming and Diving, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockSwim on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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