Swimming Opens Season at All-Florida Invite
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Miami swimming team will open its 2014-15 season Friday at the Pinch A Penny All-Florida Invitational hosted by the University of Florida at the Stephen C O’Connell Center Pool.
The Hurricanes will be joined by host Florida, Nova Southeastern, UNF, FGCU and new participant California – who finished in third place at the 2014 NCAA Championships last spring.
Head coach Andy Kershaw said both swimmers and staff are excited to get the season underway, and plan on using the weekend as an early barometer.
“On one hand, we can’t wait to get started,” Kershaw said. “We’re eager to get on the blocks and get back in the pool and gauge how big of a step forward we’ve taken.”
The Hurricanes took fourth place in last year’s All-Florida Invitational, totaling 400 points over a full weekend’s worth of action. With his team in the midst of grueling early-season training, Kershaw is optimistic the Hurricanes can succeed in a field of talented competition.
“We know we’re better. We’re eager to see it here in this meet,” Kershaw said. “We also know we’re training at a higher intensity, so they’re going to be tired and have to step up. I think we’ll see that step taken.”
The three-day event will include preliminaries and finals on each day of competition. Friday will feature the 200-yard freestyle relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free and 400 medley relay. Saturday will have the 200-yard medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 free, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 800 free relay. Sunday will conclude with the 1,650-yard free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay.
“This is truly a sense of ‘trial by fire’ as any,” Kershaw said. “It’s a jaw-dropping first meet of season and against some of the best competition in the country, complete with preliminaries and finals. We love that. It’s a great challenge. We like setting the bar high, because if we do that, we know they’ll get over it.”
Miami’s veterans – including junior captain My Fridell – have been leading the way for the younger swimmers, which includes a group of four freshmen: Jessica Hurley, Rebeka Repman, Julie Suarez and Tal Tahori.
“It is a good mix. One of the coolest things so far is how the team has really, really bonded well,” Kershaw said. “In a lot of ways the class distinction has been forgotten in training. Seniors have certainly led the charge and the freshmen have stepped right in and pushed them.”
Fridell, along with senior Heather Arseth, sophomore duo Angela Algee and Cameron Davis, figure to serve among Miami top point-getters. But others have impressed in practice, leading Kershaw to believe he’ll have a balanced lineup this weekend.
“We’re fighting from top to bottom,” Kershaw said. “We’ve got fighters all the way through. But when it comes to a college swimming meet, there is no venue like it. It’s always a little eye-opening to the younger swimmers, and it’s nice to know we have leadership and pretty tough swimmers that can show the way.”
Though the Hurricanes are opening their season in a challenging environment, Kershaw knows his team will be better off for it when ACC Championships and NCAA Championships arrive in the spring.
“To give our women the opportunity to race against that level of competition is so important,” Kershaw said. “When we get to the end of the year at ACC’s, we’ll be prepared. When we get to NCAA’s, they’ll look to their left, then look to their right and say, ‘I’ve been here, I’ve seen this, and I’m ready to do it again.’”
Stay tuned to HurricaneSports.com for day-by-day updates on the Hurricanes trip to the Pinch A Penny All-Florida Invitational.
