Swimming Ends GT Invitational in Sixth Place
ATLANTA – Aided by some impressive times on the final day of competition, the Miami Hurricanes swimming team ended its run at the Georgia Tech Invitational in sixth place.
“Our team took another big step forward this week,” head coach Andy Kershaw said. “We had high expectations, and in general we met, and in some cases exceeded, those expectations.”
Facing some elite competition at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, the Hurricanes earned 382.5 points over three days. Miami’s point total came without contributions from its diving counterparts, who spent the weekend at the UT Invite in Austin, Texas.
“We all know there is a lot more in the tank, so having achieved the times we did without fully tapering is a great sign of things to come,” Kershaw said.
Freshman Cameron Davis, who has delivered strong times in her signature distance events early in her collegiate career, finished the 1650 freestyle in eighth place to open the day’s action. The Sarasota, Fla., native ended the event in a time of 17:12.37, earning her team points in the opening event of Day Three.
Sophomore Tiffany Sudarma earned points for a fifth-place finish in the “B” final of the 200 backstroke (2:04.93), while sophomore My Fridell kept up the momentum by finishing sixth in the “B” final of the 100 free (51.80).
Freshman Julia Schippert and junior Amy Wiley qualified for the “A” finals of the 200 breast after strong performances during the morning preliminaries, and finished seventh (2:20.40) and ninth (2:22.04) respectively in the event. Both Schippert and Wiley played a key role throughout the weekend in Miami’s successful run.
Freshman Angela Algee, who also played a crucial part for the Hurricanes at the invite, earned ninth place in the “A” finals of the 200 fly in 2:03.39. Alongside Fridell, sophomore Alejandra Gonzalez and senior Katherine Nicholson, Algee helped Miami end the event on a high note with a sixth-place finish in the 400 free relay of 3:31.53.
“It’s a great feeling as a coach to be proud of your athletes, and I am a very proud coach tonight,” Kershaw said. “And it’s not because of their times, but because of their attitude and commitment. It really is great to be a Cane – we have a lot to be thankful for.”
