Swimming Opens Season at All-Florida Invite
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes swimming team opens up the 2015-16 season Friday at the Pinch A Penny All Florida Invitational hosted by the University of Florida at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Pool.
Teams competing at All Florida include the Hurricanes, the host Gators, FGCU, Florida State, Nova Southeastern and Towson.
Miami is competing in All Florida for the third straight year under head coach Andy Kershaw, but the season-opening, three-day event presents a unique challenge from years past.
“This is by far the earliest I’ve ever been part of a college competition, which has added a great dynamic to the beginning of the year,” said Kershaw, now in his third year as head coach of the Hurricanes. “It has put us in a great position to lay the foundation of what will lead to a ton of success, as far as race strategy goes.”
Miami returns a number of key contributors from a season ago, including second-year team-captain and senior My Fridell, juniors Angela Algee, Cameron Davis and Julia Schippert as well as sophomores Julie Suaerz and Ksenia Yuskova.
Kershaw, who described the team’s nucleus as “forceful”, is excited about the returning group but also stressed the importance of each and every contribution on a 19-member team (15 swimmers, four divers).
“With our team size, everyone makes quite an impact,” he said. “Starting at the top with My, I think she’s going to have a tremendous year. Angela also had a great summer, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic trials, and I think is poised to take another step forward coming up. We’ll have Cameron leading us in the distance events and Julia in the breaststroke events, and Julie has looked great as well. Ksenia, who we added in the middle of the year last season, now has her opportunity to be with us from the very beginning.”
Fridell is one of two team captains, joined by redshirt senior diver Kara McCormack. Only the swimmers are traveling to Gainesville for the weekend meet.
The returning swimmers are joined by a group of six newcomers, highlighted by junior transfer Christina Leander who spent the first two seasons of her collegiate career at Tennessee.
“Christina is a transfer, so she’s in a little different spot, but she already has the sense of, ‘I’m going to prove being a Hurricane means something special to me.’ It’s exciting to see.”
Leander will be making her Hurricanes debut along with freshmen Madison Emery, Katie Sickinger, Sydney Story and Roxanne Yu.
“I think the freshmen all kind of have that anxiousness of wearing the U on their chest and the U on their cap. That’s going to mean something special,” he said. “It’s exciting to see them bring that attitude daily, and it’s going to be exciting to see them put that to use in competition.”
For Kershaw, Friday’s first meet is not as much about final times as it is executing strategy.
“At this point, as I’ve told them, I know they’re going to go faster throughout the year,” Kershaw said. “We don’t have to worry so much about that. But if we establish the right way to swim the events, that will allow them to swim the fastest they can at the end of the season, when it matters most.”
Friday’s events include the 200-meter freestyle relay, the 500 free, the 200 IM, the 50 free and the 400 medley relay. Saturday’s slate consists of 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back and 800 free relay. Sunday’s final day includes the 1,650 free, the 200 back, the 100 free, the 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay.
