Swimming Falls to Harvard on Senior Day

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — On a bittersweet day for the Miami Hurricanes swimming team, visiting Harvard University captured a dual meet victory at The Norman A. Whitten University Center Pool.

Competing in the final home event of their careers, six seniors were recognized in pre-match ceremonies: Christine Anderson, Celeste Degen, Sofia Johansson, Hannah Kling, Haley Nicholson and Kayla Smith.

The Hurricanes started their afternoon in impressive fashion, taking first place in the opening 200 Medley Relay event with a dominant performance. Degen, Johansson, freshman Katie Ligon and sophomore Lucy Worrall combined to take first in a time of 1:43.81.

Freshman My Fridell delivered a strong showing of her own in the 200 Freestyle, finishing in third place but falling less than one second shy of the first-place time. She touched the wall in a time of 1:53.21.

As she has on countless occasions through her four-year career, Johansson delivered the Hurricanes some energy with a first-place showing in her signature event, the 100 Breaststroke. The Sweden native finished the event in 1:03.80, earning Miami points alongside Anderson, who finished fourth (1:06.67).

Worrall, coming off a dominant three-day performance at the Georgia Tech Invitational, took second in the 200 Butterfly with a time of 2:02.02. She would add a first-place showing in the 100 Fly, capturing the event by nearly two full seconds, by touching the wall in 54.90.

Following Worrall’s solid performance in the 200 Fly, Degen finished second in the 50 Freestyle (23.96) to help the home team build momentum. But Harvard would prove too much for the Hurricanes, despite more strong performances from Fridell in the 100 Free and Madison Qualy in the 200 Breaststroke.

The Hurricanes next travel to Blacksburg, Va. for a tri-meet with host Virginia Tech and William & Mary on Jan. 19.