Canes Set Three Program Records Friday in Greensboro
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Miami Hurricanes women’s swimming & diving team bounced back with a dominant performance on the third day of competition at the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships.
Three school records – the 200 yard freestyle, 100 backstroke and 400 medley relay – fell Friday, as Miami posted some of the top times of the day at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Head swimming coach Andy Kershaw said the momentum started with the morning preliminaries and continued through the night’s final rounds.
“We really caught fire tonight, and it was really exciting to see,” Kershaw said. “It started in prelims and came through even more tonight. This is what conference championships are supposed to be – people cheering like crazy, some great swims.
“When one person goes to the blocks, it seems like everyone is back there with them. That’s what the experience is supposed to be like.”
Kershaw said his team felt good entering the ACC Championships about the 100 butterfly, an event where Miami had been successful throughout the season. Two of Miami’s most veteran swimmers delivered.
Junior Angela Algee swam the event in under 53 seconds in preliminaries (52.86) and then dropped to a time of 52.51 to capture sixth place. The time will put Algee in contention to swim at the NCAA Championships, barring other times across the country.
“Last year, her time of 52.51 would have made it,” Kershaw said. “But it gets a little faster every year. Now we have a wait and see game. We won’t find out for a little over a week, but regardless, I’m proud of the way she performed.”
Not to be outdone, senior captain My Fridell won the “C” final of the 100 fly with a personal best time of 53.59.
“I know she was determined to get to the wall first,” Kershaw said. “It was so cool to see her do it, then see all her teammates hugging her and cheering for her afterwards.”
Divers Wally Layland and Cici Chaney, who both earned trips to the podium for top-three 1-meter showings on Wednesday night, scored points for Miami by qualifying for the night’s finals in the 3-meter.
Layland scored 320.50 to finish seventh, while Chaney took eighth in a time of 317.70.
Sophomore Ksenia Yuskova built Miami’s momentum with her school-record time of 1:46.07 in the 200 free. The performance topped a program record that had stood since 2003. Ianire Casrain added points for Miami with a personal-best time of 1:47.36 in the event, placing second in the “C” final.
Junior Julia Schippert posted an NCAA “B” cut time of 1:02.25 in the “C” final of the 100 breaststroke, after posting a time of 1:02.61 in prelims.
“The ‘B’ cut time is something she has really been wanting and working towards throughout this year,” Kershaw said. “She put together a great swim to achieve that.”
Junior Christina Leander added to the excitement when she lowered her own school record in the 100 backstroke. Leander, who transferred to Miami before the 2015-16 school year, posted a time of 53.65 to lower her own mark.
Miami’s 400 medley relay capped off the day with the final school-record breaking performance. The group, comprised of Leander, Schippert, Algee and Yuskova, posted a time of 3:38.50 – which bested the old record of 3:39.20 set in 2011.
“I have been talking to our team each night about the records in each event and seeing how many we could break,” Kershaw said. “This team is just so determined. We’re in a good spot, and we’re in striking range.”
