Cousineau Highlights Tri-Meet in Blacksburg
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The University of Miami swimming and diving team made its spring debut at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center this weekend, matching up against conference rivals Virginia and Virginia Tech as well as nonconference foes Harvard and Wisconsin.
“The team certainly had to be tough this weekend after a difficult segment of training the last few weeks,” head swimming coach Andy Kershaw said. “They battled hard, and in the end, we came out a stronger team than we went in.”
Redshirt junior diver Cheyenne Cousineau, who was named the 2013 Wendy Wyland Award winner by USA Diving in mid-December, delivered a highlight performance in her Miami Hurricanes debut. Cousineau finished second in both the 1-meter (298.20) and 3-meter (312.75), pacing all Miami divers on the weekend.
“It was great to have Cheyenne on the boards representing the Canes for the first time ever,” Kershaw said. “She came through with some important points for our team.”
Fellow divers Thea Vock and Kara McCormack also impressed against a talented pool of competition. Vock took third in the 1-meter (286.35) and sixth in the 3-meter (279.10), while McCormack captured fourth place in both events.
Another highlight for Miami was the performance of sophomore swimmer My Fridell in the 100-yard Butterfly. Fridell, who entered the meet with the fourth-fastest time of any conference swimmer in the event, came in second place with a time of 55.11 seconds.
The Sweden native came just shy of Wisconsin’s Ivy Martin (54.94) for first in the event.
“My’s showing in 100 Fly was certainly one of our highlights, as she beat all ACC opponents in the field,” Kershaw said.
Junior Heather Arseth, swimming in just her second competition of the season after injury forced her to skip much of the fall, captured eighth in the 100-yard Freestyle (52.18) – just behind Fridell’s sixth-place showing (52.09).
Among other solid showings were freshman Angela Algee in the 200 Fly (2:05.07, eighth place), freshman Julia Schippert in the 100 Breaststroke (1:05.43, sixth) and Arseth in both the 100 Backstroke (57.24, fourth) and 50 Free (23.98, fifth).
The Hurricanes return to the pool Fri., Jan. 31 with a dual meet against in-state rival Florida State. Action is set from Tallahassee beginning at 3 p.m.
