UM Swimming & Diving Ready for ACC Championships

Feb. 17, 2009

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Coral Gables, Fla. – Third-year Miami head swimming coach Christie Shefchunas and veteran diving coach Randy Ableman are gearing up for the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Swimming and Diving Championships running Feb. 18-21 in College Park, Md. The event is hosted by the University of Maryland at the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium.

UM enters the Championships sporting an overall record of 10-7, but just a 1-4 mark against ACC opponents. The Hurricanes have been led by a host of swimmers this year, most notably senior Britta Boesing and sophomore Annika Saarnak. Boesing has posted four top times this year for UM, while Saarnak has equaled that number in her respective events.

When asked about how she felt going into this year’s championships, Christie Shefchunas stated she feels confident about the upcoming chance to show what the team has in store.

“To be honest with you, this is the best I’ve felt going into an ACC Championship,” expressed Shefchunas. “The girls are ready, and just so determined and positive towards their goal. I just feel really good. One of our main focuses was to stay mentally tough, and just being a warrior and confident and fearless. They’ve really conquered their fears this year, and they’ve gone out and performed each and every meet.”

Boesing owns the seventh-fastest time in the ACC for the 100 breaststroke (1:03.92), while also staking the sixth-best time in the 200 breaststroke (2:17.05). The Tuebingen, Germany native is also 10th in the ACC for the 200 Individual Medley (2:03.35).

Shefchunas has established her mark on the UM swimming record books early-on in her coaching career as she became the first coach to collect double-digit wins in a single-season since the 1995-96 campaign under former head coach Sid Cassidy.

At that time, the UM program was split into men’s and women’s programs, respectively, for swimming. Since the programs combined into just a women’s swimming team, UM has established three eight-win seasons, one of those coming last season (2007-08) under Shefchunas who collected a record of 8-3 on the year.

“This season has been almost two different season, altogether,” stated Shefchunas. “In the fall, the team worked hard, but when they competed, they weren’t fearless. There was a mental wall, of sorts, they just couldn’t break through. After we had our fall meeting where the girls wrote down their plans and read them aloud, there seemed to be a better chemistry. After that, it was a complete 180 [degree turn] from the fall, and their confidence came back with a fearless attitude.”

Meanwhile, the diving is controlled for the Orange and Green by returning National Champions Reuben Ross and Brittany Viola. They are well-accompanied by two-time All-American Jenna Dreyer–competing in her final ACC event as a fifth-year senior. Last season, Viola swept the springboard events, while former diver J.J. Kinzbach claimed an ACC title as well.

All Miami divers have qualified for the NCAA Zone ‘B’ Diving Championships in March.

In last year’s ACC Championships, UM’s combination of Britta Boesing, Magdalena Waszkiewicz, Katie Eason and Kirsten Pomerleau established a new school record in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:43.11. That was followed by an incredible performance by the `Canes in the 800 Medley Relay with the team of Saarnak, Boesing, Ryann Labreche and Emerson Davis finishing in a time of 7:25.74, establishing the third-fastest time in school history and the fastest time at UM since 1993.

Miami would finish the ACC Championships in 10th place overall.

Speaking of Labreche, the Ft. Myers native currently holds the top three times for the Orange and Green in the 1000 freestyle on the campaign. She also ranks fifth in the 200 freestyle (1:51.89), as well as second in the 500 freestyle (5:03.79), also taking part in the 400 freestyle relay.

“When talking about Annika, Britta and Ryann, I’m just really excited about each of them because they can truly make a statement this year,” commented Shefchunas. “They can all be Top 8 swimmers, if they set their mind to it. But to be honest, I feel that way about others on our team as well.”

Two of the others Shefchunas can easily speak about are freshmen Dana Hatic and Lauren Jacoby. Jacoby holds Top 10 times for UM in the 100-, 200- and 500 freestyle, including a personal-best 5:04.64 in the 500 free. Meanwhile, Dana Hatic, sister of Meredith–also on the UM swim team, has been a mainstay for UM at the 100 breaststroke, holding the second-fastest time on the year (1:03.96) behind Boesing. Overall, Dana Hatic has five of UM’s Top 10 times in the 100 breast.

She went on to stake three Top 10 times in the 200 breaststroke, including a personal-best mark of 2:20.80 against Florida Atlantic on November 8. She has also competed in the 200 Medley Relay for the `Canes.

“Dana, Lauren and Erin [Simpson] are others that I’m excited about, and I know their futures are so bright here at Miami,” praises Shefchunas. “Dana has been amazing all year long, and she’s so determined. She works her butt off, mentally and physically, and is just a determined young woman.”

The four-day event will be broadcast live via ACC Select by visiting www.ACCselect.com.

For more information on the ACC Championships for swimming and diving, please click here. For live results of the women’s swimming & diving portion of the ACC Championships, please click here.