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Truman State University Athletics

GLVC_SWIMPreview

Men's Swimming Tyler Madsen, Truman Athletics

A Closer Look: GLVC Men's & Women's Swimming

This series, running from June 27 – August 22, 2013, highlights Truman State University's transition from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association to the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Please refer to the schedule below for each installment throughout the summer series.
 
Previous:
June 28 – Rich History of Bulldog Athletics in MIAA
July 1 - A New Era Begins: Bulldogs Join GLVC
July 5 – GLVC Football Begins Second Year
July 8 – Volleyball Sets High Goals for 2013 Campaign
July 11 – A Closer Look: GLVC Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
July 15 – Women's Soccer Preps for First GLVC Campaign
July 18 – A Closer Look: GLVC Men's Cross Country/Track & Field
July 22 – A Closer Look: GLVC Men's Soccer
 
GLVC Links:
Sponsorship Announcement || AD Jerry Wollmering Interview with GLVC
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - For the first time in more than 30 seasons, the Truman swimming programs will compete for the same conference pennant as their fellow Bulldogs with the beginning of league-sponsored swimming and diving by the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
While the Truman athletic department as a whole contended for MIAA championships for more than a century, the men's and women's swimming programs have been on their own since the early 1980s, bouncing between five different swimming-specific conferences through the 2012-13 season. Both Bulldog swim programs pushed off in the 1977-78 season under the direction of Fontaine Piper, participating as MIAA and MAIAW members for four seasons through 1981.
 
However, at that point, the conference sponsorship disintegrated, forcing the Bulldogs to look for homes in a variety of places, beginning with the Midwest Championship (1982-90), and continuing through the Mideast Championship (1990-99), the Central States (1999-2004), the New South (2004-12) and the Northern Sun (2012-13).
 
Meanwhile, the Great Lakes Valley will debut men's and women's swimming & diving as its 19th and 20th sports for the 2013-14 academic year, allowing the Bulldog programs – under the direction of head coach Ed Pretre – to join alongside 18 other Truman teams as full-fledged GLVC members.
 
About GLVC Swimming
Seven men's teams and seven women's programs, representing eight member institutions, will vie for the inaugural 2014 GLVC Championship in February. Five GLVC schools sponsor both men's and women's swimming and diving, including Bellarmine (Ky.), Drury (Mo.), Indianapolis, Lewis (Ill.), and William Jewell (Mo.), while Truman will field both its men's and women's swimming-only programs. In addition, Missouri S&T currently sponsors men's-only, and Maryville (Mo.) will begin its inaugural women's-only swimming season this year.
 
The programs will combine under the GLVC banner from a variety of avenues, as Truman and William Jewell both change allegiances from the Northern Sun to the GLVC. Bellarmine, Drury and Missouri S&T compete in the New South, while Indianapolis and Lewis have been members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate.
 
The Drury Rivalry
While the Bulldogs have been building history with a handful of other GLVC programs, the one that's provided the most excitement has been Truman's long-standing rivalry with Drury.
 
For every season – save one – since 1997, the women's Division II national title has held residence in the state of Missouri. Drury began the run with four straight titles from 1997-2000 before Truman took control by posting an unprecedented six-peat from 2001-2006 – besting Drury each time.
 
The two squads traded first- and second-place finishes in 2007 (Drury-1, Truman-2) and 2008 (Truman-1, Drury-2), before the Panthers logged three straight titles from 2009-2011. Only until Wayne (Mich.) State stood atop the podium in 2012 was the Missouri streak snapped; however, the Warriors' reign was short-lived, as Drury again took the title in 2013.
 
Meanwhile, on the men's side, Drury has been the team to beat as well, having won nine straight national titles and 11 overall since 1999.
 
GLVC 2013 Schedule/Postseason Information
The Truman programs feature a mostly similar schedule throughout 2013-14, with both teams beginning on September 27-28 with the Purple/White Intrasquad and the Alumni meets in the Pershing Natatorium.
 
The regular season officially gets underway one week later, as the teams travel to Columbia for the University of Missouri Show-Me Meet on Friday, October 4. The Bulldog women took fourth, while the men finished seventh at the meet last season.
 
After two weeks off, both teams hit the Pershing pool again the weekend of October 18-19, as the women welcome Division I program Illinois State on the 18th before both teams host Lindenwood on the 19th. A tri-meet for the women against William Jewell and Maryville with a dual against William Jewell for the men takes place at home on Oct. 26.
 
More Division I competition is on the docket for November, with the squads traveling to Western Illinois on Nov. 2 before the three-day TYR Cup at Northwestern University on Nov. 22-24 in Evanston, Ill., closes the month.
 
The squads finish the fall semester with a home dual against Lewis, before picking back up in the spring with a home meet on January 18 against in-state, Division I rival Missouri State. The men will travel to Missouri S&T the night prior for a date with the Miners.
 
Postseason action commences with the inaugural GLVC Championship that runs from February 12-15 in St. John, Ind., at Lake Central High School.
 
After the final NCAA selections are made, finalists will then move on to the NCAA Championships, to be held March 12-15 at a site still to be determined.
 
Upcoming
Monday – GLVC Women's Basketball Preview
August 1 – GLVC Men's Basketball Preview
August 5 – GLVC Men's & Women's Tennis Preview
August 8 – GLVC Women's Golf Preview
August 12 – GLVC Baseball Preview
August 15 – GLVC Softball Preview
August 19 – GLVC Award Season Preview
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