Canes Split Tri-Meet with Tulane, Rutgers
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes opened their spring schedule by splitting a tri-meet with visiting Rutgers and Tulane at the Whitten University Center Pool Saturday.
Miami successfully topped the Green Wave, but fell to Rutgers to move their season meet record to 2-2.
“It was a good start to the spring,” head swimming coach Andy Kershaw said. “We had to battle today. We had a lot of sicknesses and some injury to deal with, so it was a good test for them. I thought they showed a lot of fortitude… they still took on that ‘next person up’ attitude and that showed a lot of character.”
An early win by sophomore Cameron Davis in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:18.81) was followed by a strong showing from freshman Julie Suarez in a first-place time of 1:53.78 in the 200 free. Davis would go on to win the 500 free in a time of 5:03.37.
“As always, Cameron seems to be there just plugging away. She did that again,” Kershaw said of the talented sophomore. “She won her best two events and actually had her best 400 IM of the season, which is an event we’ve been working on. She’s coming on stronger and stronger in it.”
Key to Miami’s win over the Green Wave was a strong showing by a trio of Hurricanes in the 100 breaststroke. Junior Madison Qualy (1:05.76), senior Amy Wiley (1:06.11) and sophomore Julia Schippert (1:06.18) would take the top three times in the head-to-head with Tulane, and three of the top five times overall.
“That was huge for us,” Kershaw said. “Madison had a very good meet, and that 100 breaststroke was crucial.”
Senior diver Cheyenne Cousineau swept the diving awards, earning top spots in the 1-meter and 3-meter event. Cousineau, who scored 302.15 in the 1-meter and 318.55 in the 3-meter, served as one of Miami’s top point-getters. Freshman Wally Layland finished second in the 3-meter with a score of 300.60.
Despite battling illness for much of the week, senior Heather Arseth was one of just three swimmers to swim the 100 backstroke in under one minute (57.90). She also delivered the top time in the 50 freestyle (24.31).
“They were absolutely focused, I was really happy on that end. I think they really have developed a good competition mindset,” Kershaw said. “It’s still in the works, but it’s improving at every opportunity. I talked to them right before explaining that on one hand, I knew they were tired, but on the other, they were more prepared to compete in their events than they had been all year because of the training. They embraced it.”
A thrilling finish to the tri-meet came in the 400 freestyle relay, when Miami earned two of the top three times in the event. Miami’s “A” relay, comprised of Suarez, freshman Rebeka Repman, freshman Ksenia Yuskova and Arseth, finished in a top time of 3:29.42. The Hurricanes “B” relay, consisting of sophomore Angela Algee, senior Meghan Murphy, Qualy and Wiley, touched the wall in a time of 3:34.98.
“That’s how a meet is supposed to be, and that’s how it’s supposed to end,” Kershaw said. “A college meet is about teams going up against each other in a relay where the results mean something. Our team really embraced that and took that on…I was very proud of that.”
Miami will next battle three teams – Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and UNC-Wilmington – in a meet on Jan. 24 in Blacksburg, Va., before a Senior Day showdown against FIU on Jan. 31.
“The hardest work is behind us – we still have hard work ahead, but now what we have to do is hone in on the finer details, demand that they stay disciplined when they’re practicing, and that will be a huge step.”
Kershaw said his team accomplished one of its most important goals Saturday – getting better each and every time in the water.
“We’re just continuing to develop the winning mindset – we picked up another win today against Tulane, and I’m proud to get a win against them,” he said. “We battled hard against Rutgers, who is another great program. I’m happy with how we performed against them. They swam great.”
