RICHMOND, Va. – On the eve of the first day of the 2022 Great Lakes Valley Conference Swimming & Diving Championships, the McKendree men's and women's swimming & diving programs are both ranked in the Top 20 of the latest College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Division II Top 25 polls that were released late in the day on Tuesday by the CSCAA.

In this year's fourth regular season poll, the Bearcat men's program jumped one spot from No. 5 to No. 4, while the women's program fell from No. 16 to No. 18 nationally. The rankings are voted on by CSCAA-member coaches and select media. The committee consists of six representatives from Division II schools and two media members.

In this month's latest poll from the CSCAA, the Bearcat men, who went 9-2 during the regular season in dual meet with its only dual meet losses being a setback at No. 2 ranked University of Indianapolis and at home against Division I No. 10 ranked University of Missouri, earned 131 points to sit four points in front of No. 5 Colorado Mesa (127 points) and 10 points behind No. 3 ranked Queens University (141 points). Drury is the new No. 1 ranked team as they earned 146 points, while former No. 1 UIndy falls to No. 2 as the Greyhounds earned 145 points.

The Great Lakes Valley Conference continues to be well-represented in the latest men's rankings as the league has five teams ranked, including four of the Top 6 teams nationally and two other teams are just outside the Top 25 as the ranked GLVC teams are Drury (No. 1), UIndy (No. 2), McKendree (No. 4), Lindenwood (No. 6) and Missouri S&T (No. 19), while Lewis and UMSL received three and two votes respectively to be second and fifth among teams receiving votes.

Meanwhile, in the new women's poll, the Bearcat women fell two spots to No. 18. The Bearcats, who completed their regular season dual meet schedule with a 3-9 record, received 48 points to sit nine points in front of No. 19 Rollins (Fla.) College (39 points) and eight points behind No. 16 Grand Valley State and Delta State, who each earned 56 points to be tied at No. 16. Queens University remains the No. 1 team on the women's side as they earned 150 points, while Indianapolis remains at No. 2 with 144 points and Drury stayed at No. 3 with 138 points.

Much like the men's poll, the GLVC women's teams are also well represented in the latest poll as five schools from the league are nationally ranked as the ranked women's teams are UIndy (No. 2), Drury (No. 3), Lindenwood (No. 7), McKendree (No. 18) and Truman State (No. 25).

The Bearcat men and women return to the pool on Wednesday, Feb. 9 as they begin competition at the GLVC Championships, which are being held at the Elkhart Health & Aquatics Center in Elkhart, Ind. The championship meet will last four days as their will be preliminaries in the mornings each day beginning at 10 a.m., with the finals scheduled each day at 6 p.m.