CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini Swimming and Diving squad will take their 6-1 record to the Missouri Invitational this weekend. The three-day Invitational will take place Thursday through Saturday, with preliminary races in the morning beginning at 10 a.m. and finals in the evening beginning at 6 p.m.

"It's the team's first shot at a prelim-final meet this season, and it will be a great experience for them," head coach Sue Novitsky said. "It's a good chance for us to compete against some of the best athletes in the nation."

Illinois will compete against host Missouri, Drury, Iowa State, LSU, Nebraska, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, SMU, Texas A&M, UNLV, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

"We want to see our team continue to work on things we worked on in the fall, and we want to see them continue to come together," Novitksy said.

Last Time Out

Gabbie Stecker and Samantha Stratford competed in the USA College Challenge as a part of the Big Ten team in Indianapolis last weekend. As a team, the Illini defeated Indiana State on the road on Nov. 5.

Next Up

Illinois will get a long break before hosting Arkansas on January 7, 2017 at the ARC at 10 a.m.