CORAL GABLES, Fla. — After being postponed due to inclement weather Friday night, the University of Miami swimming & diving team kicked off its dual meet season Saturday morning on a high note, toppling FIU, 161-101, at the Whitten University Center Pool.
“Overall, it was a good race. We executed all of the things we have been working on and I think it paid off this morning,” head swimming coach Andy Kershaw explained. “I was most impressed by our race discipline and how we completed our underwater turns in addition to how we finished and paced our races.”
First-place finishes included top showings from junior Julie Suarez in the 200 freestyle (1:51.10) and 100 freestyle (51.19), senior Christina Leander in the 100 backstroke (55.78) and 200 IM (2:06.69, freshman Chantal Noe in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.39), senior Angela Algee in the 200 butterfly (2:01.89) and 100 butterfly (55.14), Iliana Oikonomou in the 50 freestyle (23.92) and Roxanne Yu in the 200 backstroke (2:01.73).
After starting the morning with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay followed by senior Cameron Davis’ second place finish in the 1000 freestyle, the Hurricanes returned to the top of the podium in dominant fashion.
In the 200 freestyle Suarez, sophomore Ianire Casarin and freshman Manon Viguier swept the event, giving the Hurricanes their first lead of the meet, 28-27.
In the 100 backstroke, Yu finished second behind her teammate Leander with a time of 56.98, edging out FIU’s Jenny Alfani (57.00) to maintain the Hurricanes’ positive momentum.
Miami took first and third in the 100 breaststroke, thanks to Noe and senior Julia Schippert (1:06.70). Algee and junior Jessica Hurley (2:07.13) finished first and third in the 200 fly, while Oikonomou and Viguier (23.94) claimed the top two spots in the 50 freestyle.
Oikonomou later added a second place finish to her resume with a time of 51.82. In the 200 breastroke, Schippert placed second while freshman Claire McGinnis and Davis finished second and third in the 500 freestyle.
The Hurricanes closed out the morning with the 400 freestyle relay team of Viguier, Oikonomou, Suarez and Algee finishing first with a time of 3:26.64.
Following the victory over FIU, Miami will travel to Dallas for a two-day event at the SMU Classic, starting Oct. 14.
“Now we get a little chance to get back to working on improving the things we have been working on,” Kershaw said. “Our next competition is a unique one, it is a lot of fun. We have some decisions to make about who is going to compete because we are only allowed to take a limited amount of people to the SMU Classic.”
To keep up to date with the women’s swimming and diving team, follow the squad on Twitter and Instagram @CanesSwimDive.