S&D Captures First Win Over Illinois State
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes swimming & diving team earned its first dual meet victory of the season Saturday afternoon, toppling visiting Illinois State 164-135 at the Whitten University Center Pool.
Head swimming coach Andy Kershaw said the opportunity to compete in front of the home crowd for the first time this season energized the Hurricanes, who improved to 1-1 in dual meets.
“It’s very exciting. ‘Proud’ is the word I used with the team afterwards,” Kershaw said. “I see them earn it every day. We’ve talked a lot about making this our place, a special place. It’s a unique environment, and it’s special to come through for the fans and students, with them here cheering us on.”
Miami’s 200-yard medley relay team got the afternoon started on the right foot, capturing the top finish in a time of 1:44.05. The Hurricanes’ “A” entry was comprised of seniors Heather Arseth and Amy Wiley, junior captain My Fridell and sophomore Angela Algee.
Sophomore Cameron Davis, who earned the first two wins of her collegiate career last time out against FGCU, once again dominated in her signature distance events. Davis picked up first in the 1000 freestyle (10:27.41), besting second-place finisher Yvette Kruk of Illinois State by over 20 seconds (10:51.50).
Davis went on to win the 500 freestyle in a time of 5:04.87.
“It’s been a total package with Cameron,” Kershaw said. “She’s training better in the pool, she’s training better out of the pool in our land work. I think she’s more committed away from the training, and that pays off.”
Senior Heather Arseth delivered the top finish in the 50 freestyle (24.16 seconds), while Fridell took second in a close finish in the 100 freestyle (52.40). The two veterans have been crucial to the Hurricanes’ success, and once again served as catalysts Saturday.
“Balance is really important for us, because we have a very small team,” Kershaw said. “It’s big. We need every single person. We’ve got leaders all throughout the pool that are driving their teammates forward.”
Miami captured the top two finishes in the 1-meter diving event to stay in control of the meet. Thea Vock finished first with a score of 340.05, while senior Cheyenne Cousineau took second (327.00).
Cousineau also took first in the 3-meter event (351.45), besting Illinois State’s Wenting Zhang (351.38) by less than one point.
Freshman Julie Suarez continued to impress in the early stages of her career, taking first in the 200 backstroke in a time of 2:06.37. Sophomore Julia Schippert then took second in the 200 breaststroke (2:23.32), finishing narrowly behind Illinois State’s Courtney Taylor (2:20.98).
Kershaw and his staff had noticed an uptick in Miami’s practices since the last dual meet against FGCU, and said the results were apparent Saturday.
“I think all of them have made big steps in training,” Kershaw said. “It makes you proud when it comes through, because you know they’re making the sacrifices.”
A top finish from Fridell in the 100 butterfly (55.86) and a second-place showing from Algee (56.40) kept up the positive momentum. Suarez added a second-place finish in the 200 IM (2:10.98) before Miami’s 400 freestyle relay ended the afternoon with a top finish and time of 3:28.10.
Kershaw expects his team to gain confidence from the solid all-around performance against the Redbirds.
“As I told our team afterwards, we just won our first meet of the year, and that kicks it off, but now we need to keep the momentum going, keep earning it, and keep rolling forward.”
Miami now begins training for the Georgia Tech Invitational, which is slated for Nov. 20-21 in Atlanta.
