Jan. 7, 2010
Coral Gables, Fla. – Set for the second meet in seven days, the University of Miami swimming and diving team will host both the University of Illinois and the University of Nebraska for a tri-meet on Friday, January 8, at the Norman A. Whitten University Center Pool in Coral Gables, Fla. The meet is set to begin at 11 a.m., and admission is free.
After having the first home meet of the 2009-10 season last weekend against ACC counterpart University of Maryland, the Hurricanes are preparing for the second of three consecutive home meets.
Under the direction of fourth-year swimming head coach Christie Shefchunas, the Hurricanes have gotten better each time out in the water this season. This year’s young squad features no seniors, and is something Shefchunas is excited about with this group focusing and training for the future.
Junior Annika Saarnak, already setting records at UM, leads the way for the Hurricanes in the 100- and 200 freestyle. The Puhaleda, Estonia native has collected three wins this season in the 100 free, while posting two victories in the 200 free. Saarnak owns four of the team’s top five times in the 50- and 100 free, while serving as the top performer in all five of UM’s top times in the 200 free.
She is also listed as the top performer in Miami’s top two slots in the 100 butterfly, turning in the top time of 56.43 at the Georgia Tech Quad Meet in October.
Freshmen Sofia Johansson and Hannah Kling have been everything they were praised to be by Shefchunas prior to the beginning of the season.
Johansson, hailing from Ramlösa, Sweden, has six wins in the 100- and 200 breastroke, respectively – with four of those wins coming in the 100 breast. She owns the top three times (four of the top five) for Miami in the 100 breast, including a season-best performance of 1:03.08 at the Ohio State Invitational. She also owns three of the top five times for the `Canes in the 200 breast, with a season-best mark of 2:19.09 coming in a tri-meet with ACC competitors Virginia Tech and Duke in early November.
She also has helped Miami in the second leg of the 200 medley relay, assisting the `Canes in the top two times on the year – including a time of 1:46.21 at the Ohio State Invite.
As for Kling, the Miami native has posted four of UM’s top five times in the 200 backstroke this season, while also owning a top 10 performance (24.96) in the 50 freestyle. That 50 free was the only of its kind for Kling this year – coming at home against Maryland last weekend.
In the 100 backstroke, Kling has registered the top two performances (three of the top five) of the season for Miami, including a season-best time of 57.41 at the Ohio State Invite – a meet in which several Miami swimmers accumulated top times for the season. Her mark of 2:03.02 in the 200 backstroke serves as the best time of the season for UM as well. Kling has raced on several 200 freestyle relay teams, serving third leg for the team’s top performance of the year (1:35.35) at the OSU Invite.
Shefchunas and her team are preparing for a run at the ACC Championships in February, and know the key to that is swimming well each and every time on the water.
“We’re training a lot right now – more than usual,” expressed Shefchunas. “These next few weeks are going to set us up for the ACC’s. We’re trying to get as much work in as we can until that time.”
For more information on the University of Miami Swimming & Diving team, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, results and information regarding the Hurricanes Swimming & Diving program.