Southern Illinois University’s swim and dive teams competed against the University of Missouri on Saturday in their final meet before the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Both the men’s and women’s teams were defeated, with the women’s team losing 198-91 and the men’s team falling 195-97.
The competition began with both Saluki 400-medley relay teams finishing third. In individual events, LÃvia Munkácsi-Nagy placed second in the women’s 1000-freestyle, while two SIU men also reached the podium in their event. Susy Hernandez, Alex Cimera, and Rodrigo Ramos Chávez each finished among the top three in their respective 200-freestyle races.
Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez secured SIU’s first win of the day in the women’s 100-backstroke. Willem Huggins followed by winning on the men’s side of that event. Olivia Herron took second place in the women’s 100-breaststroke, and Tiago Faleiros finished third for the men.
Brooklyn Anderson was second in the women’s 200-butterfly. The next podium finish for SIU came when Hernandez placed second in the women’s 100-freestyle. Gallegos won again in the women’s 200-backstroke, while Huggins earned a spot on the men’s podium.
Herron and Madalyn Booker claimed top-three finishes in the women’s 200-breaststroke; two SIU men did so as well. Joshua Aceves achieved his first podium of the day with a third-place finish in the men’s 500-freestyle.
In diving, Oliver Mebs, Lucas Lauzon, and Ron Latwis swept the top three spots for SIU in the three-meter dive. Herron later won another event—the women’s 200-IM—while Juraj Barcot and Nate Worsham took second and third respectively for SIU men.
The meet concluded with relay events: SIU’s women’s “A” squad finished second in the 400-freestyle relay, while their top men’s team rounded out that event’s podium.
The Salukis will now prepare for nearly a month before competing at the MVC Championships from February 25 to February 28 in Evansville, Indiana.
“Keep up with all the latest news and information on the swim and dive teams by following them on X at @SIU_SwimDive, on Instagram at @siu_swimdive, and on Facebook at facebook.com/SIUSwimDive. Fans can also download the ‘Salukis’ Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.”
