Davis, McCormack Impress in Conference Opener
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Miami Hurricanes swimming & diving team fell in its tri-meet at the Casey Natatorium Friday, dropping matchups with ACC foes Duke and NC State in the team’s conference opener.
“I knew going in that this meet was going to catch the swimmers in a weird place in our training cycle, but we have to keep our eyes on the ultimate goal,” head coach Andy Kershaw said. “This meet will pay dividends in the long run because the women had to step up to adversity. They scrapped, fought and didn’t give in.”
Reigning ACC Women’s Diver of the Year Kara McCormack delivered another standout performance for Miami, capturing first place in both the 1-meter (303.80) and 3-meter (324.60) events. Teammate Thea Vock was not far behind, taking second in the 1-meter (301.10) and third in the 3-meter (281.30).
“The divers continued to shine and really gave us a lift,” Kershaw said.
Freshman Cameron Davis shined in the first conference meet of her young career, earning Miami points in her signature distance events with third-place showings in the 1000 Freestyle (10:25.22) and 500 Freestyle (5:03.98). The Sarasota, Fla., native also managed a third-place finish in her final individual event of the day, the 400 IM, with a time of 4:40.72.
After junior Amy Wiley touched the wall in a time of 1:06.03 in the 100 Breaststroke for a sixth-place finish, freshman Angela Algee delivered a fourth-place time of 2:06.15 in the 200 Butterfly. Sophomore My Fridell and senior captain Katherine Nicholson kept the momentum building for Miami in the middle stages of the meet, finishing the 50 Free in fifth (24.31) and sixth (24.69), respectively.
Fridell finished the 100 Fly (56.21) in fourth for her final individual event of the meet, while Miami’s “A” entry in the 200 Freestyle Relay, comprised of Wiley, Fridell, Algee and Nicholson, touched the wall in a time of 1:38.36 in the day’s final race.
Redshirt junior Sam Dorman had a strong performance for the men’s divers, finishing both the 1-meter (359.85) and 3-meter (383.75) in second place. Sophomore Tanner Wilfong took third in both, finishing with 330.75 points in the 1-meter and 344.35 in the 3-meter.
Miami fell to NC State 207.00-77.00 and dropped its head-to-head with Duke 192.00-98.00.
“We look forward to the opportunity to be better in a couple weeks,” Kershaw said.
The Miami divers return to the pool for the UT Invitational in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 21-23, while the swimming team will compete in the annual Georgia Tech Invite in Atlanta from Nov. 22-24.
