S&D Wraps Up Regular Season with Tri-Meet
BLACKSBURG, Va. — The Miami Hurricanes swimming & diving team wrapped up its final competition of the regular season on Saturday at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center, traveling north for a tri-meet with host Virginia Tech and William & Mary.
As it has on countless occasions, Miami’s 400 Medley Relay entry comprised of freshman Katie Ligon, sophomore Lucy Worrall and seniors Hannah Kling and Sofia Johansson helped the Hurricanes get the morning started strong. The group touched the wall in 3:44.50, capturing first in the event. Not far behind was the Hurricanes’ second entry, made up of Katherine Nicholson, Amy Wiley, Katherine Daniels and Celeste Degen, who finished third in a time of 3:57.14.
Freshman My Fridell continued her strong first campaign under head coach Christie Shefchunas with a fourth-place showing in the 200 Freestyle. The Swedish native touched the wall with a solid time of 1:54.61. She would add a first-place finish in the 100 Free later in the day (52.29).
Fellow underclassman Katie Ligon helped Miami continue its start to the event with a fourth-place showing in the 100 Backstroke. Another key young component to the Hurricanes’ success, Ligon finished the event in 58.58 seconds.
The Hurricanes next captured three of the top eight finishes in the 100 Breaststroke. Senior Sofia Johansson (1:05.15), sophomore Amy Wiley (1:07.40) and senior Christine Anderson (1:07.72) took third, sixth and seven in the event, respectively.
The trio of Worrall, Daniels and Haley Nicholson kept up the momentum with strong individual performances in the 200 Fly. Worrall, the leader of the group, took second place in a time of 2:03.71. Not far behind the British native were Daniels (2:07.33, fourth place) and Nicholson (2:11.40, seventh).
In one of their primary events, the Miami senior duo of Celeste Degen and Hannah Kling dominated in the 50 Free. Degen delivered Miami’s first top individual performance of the day, touching the wall in a first-place time of 23.94 seconds. Kling took fourth with a time of 24.33 seconds.
Continuing their strong showing from the Bruin Diving Invitational, junior Lindsay Lester (322.88) and senior Carrie Dragland (317.85) took two of the top three spots in the 3-meter event. Dragland would later add a first-place showing in the 1-meter (306.00), while sophomore Kara McCormack added a second-place finish in the same event (303.00).
Despite their hot start to the day, the Hurricanes would cool off in the competition’s latter stages. But the team ended the day on a high note, as Worrall, Fridell and Daniels each delivered strong showings in the 100 Fly, and the Miami entry in the 200 Medley Relay captured first place in the event (1:34.93).
With its regular season in the books, the Hurricanes will begin final preparation for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, slated to begin Feb. 20 in Greensboro, N.C.
