Miami Falls to FGCU in Dual Meet Opener

FORT MYERS, Fla. — After finishing in fourth place in their first competition at the All-Florda Invitational, the Miami Hurricanes dropped their season-opening dual meet at Florida Gulf Coast 130-113.

“It was not a great afternoon,” head swimming coach Christie Shefchunas said. “We swam 200’s of strokestoday, which is not our strength, but we got some great practice racing.”

Despite the disappointing end result, the Hurricanes enjoyed strong performances from some of the team’s leaders. Sophomore Katherine Daniels won the 200 Butterfly (2:04.04), freshman My Fridell earned first place in the 100 Freestyle (52:44), and sophomore Lucy Worrall took top honors in the 500 Freestyle (5:04.44).

“We are looking forward to tomorrow,” Shefchunas added. “We’re swimming 100’sof strokes, which is where we are a lot stronger, so it should be a great day.”

Though the Hurricanes finished in the top spot for a number of events, including the 200 Medley Relay (1:45.65), 1-meter diving (Carrie Dragland, 297.52) and 3-meter diving (Lindsay Lester, 313.65), the Eagles pulled ahead early and earned the decision.

Miami returns to the pool Saturday for its home opener at the Norman Whitten Center University Pool against visiting Houston at 10 a.m.