UM Swimming & Diving Takes on Cross-Town Rival FIU

Oct. 17, 2008

Coral Gables, Fla. –

Complete Release in PDF Format

The University of Miami swimming and diving team prepares for their second home meet of the year on Saturday, Oct. 18 as they challenge cross-town rival Florida International University (FIU) at UM’s Norman A. Whitten Student Union Pool at 11 a.m.

The meet, a dual meet between the `Canes and Golden Panthers, is for local bragging rights between the two schools separated by just nine miles. Admission to the event is free.

Miami enters Saturday’s match-up with an overall record of 2-2. The `Canes are coming off a strong performance last weekend at North Carolina State where they enjoyed a tri-meet split with ACC foe N.C. State and out-of-conference opponent UMBC. UM had two swimmers to break personal-best times in their individual events, and all three women’s divers qualified for the 1-meter Zone `B’ Championships in March 2009. Two weeks ago, both men’s divers for the Orange and Green, J.J. Kinzbach and Reuben Ross, qualified for the 3-meter event.

“Every time the girls step up to race, they’ve gotten better,” stated third-year head swimming coach Christie Shefchunas. “I’ll also get a chance to see the girls sprint on Saturday. So, I expect great things this weekend.”

After traveling with just 14 participants last weekend, UM is looking to involve more than that number on Saturday, and are expected to have many of them participate in events that they wouldn’t normally swim in.

Miami has won the previous eight meetings against FIU, most recently a 167-63 victory at home back on Jan. 26, 2008. That meet also included Florida Gulf Coast at the Whitten Student Union Pool. UM swept both opponents that afternoon.

Hurricane Warning…
The University of Miami welcomes cross-town rival Florida International University to the Norman A. Whitten Student Union Pool this weekend with a 13-event schedule on tap. This is the second home meet the Hurricanes have hosted this young season, but the very first meet in which they’ll go head-to-head with just one opponent.

The Orange and Green had three student-athletes set season-best times in their individual respected events last weekend in Raleigh, N.C., as well as senior Britta Boesing registering a career second-best in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:05.70. Sophomore Annika Saarnak again posted a top five time for the `Canes in the 100 freestyle as she recorded a time of 52.16 (leadoff) in the 400 freestyle relay.

Divers Qualify for Zone Championships…
All five divers this year for the Hurricanes have qualified for the Zone `B’ Championships scheduled for early March. Kelci Bryant, Jenna Dreyer and Brittany Viola qualified in the 1-meter event for the women, while Reuben Ross did so as well on the men’s side.

Both Ross and teammate J.J. Kinzbach earned qualifying totals in the 3-meter event, while Viola sits with the only qualification standard on the women’s side. No platform events have been held this year to date for either men or women.

Hurricanes Have `Eye’ On Golden Panthers…
UM looks to continue their dominance over FIU by adding to their streak of eight consecutive wins over the Golden Panthers. The `Canes have won each of these eight outings by a relatively high margin of victory. Most recently, Miami defeated FIU by a margin of 104 points on January 26, 2008.

About FIU…
The FIU Golden Panthers come across town to Coral Gables for just their second meet of the year so far, while the Hurricanes are participating in their third meet of the young season. The Golden Panthers are coming off their season-opener against Florida State and FAU a week ago.

Sophomore Danielle Sneir broke the school record for the 200-yard backstroke a week ago registering a time of 2:07.34. However, Sneir’s record-setting time was not good enough to lead the FIU Golden panthers to victory as they fell in both meetings against the Sunshine State foes.

Last Time vs. FIU…
The Hurricanes downed FIU, 167-63, in a tri-meet with Florida Gulf Coast. Miami used two first place finishes from Britta Boesing in the 200 IM and 100 backstroke, as well as a first place finish by Katie Eason in the 100 butterfly to ride to victory over their cross-town rivals. UM also won the 200 medley relay.

Miami vs. UMBC/NC State Recap…
The Hurricanes earned another split last weekend in a tri-match with North Carolina State and the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The Hurricanes had two top individual times, as well as sweeping the 1-meter diving, but couldn’t pull off the tri-meet sweep. The `Canes fell to N.C. State (L, 99-144), but collected a win over UMBC (W, 162-79).

Up Next for the Hurricanes…
The `Canes head back out on the road to North Carolina where they’ll meet ACC foe Duke University in Durham. The meet is scheduled for October 25 at 1 p.m.

Interview Policies…
Coach Shefchunas, Coach Ableman, their assistants and all student-athletes are available for phone and personal interviews by contacting Bryan J. Harvey in the Office of Athletic Media Relations at (305) 284-3249. Post-meet interviews will be allowed following the 10-minute cooling-off period mandated by the NCAA. Please contact Bryan J. Harvey in advance of all home meets for any special interview requests.