Miami Picks Up Two Dual Meet Wins in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH – The University of Miami picked up two wins Friday afternoon at the Trees Pool on the University of Pittsburgh campus, topping Michigan State and James Madison in a quad-meet hosted by the Panthers.
Competing as a full team for the first time this season, the Hurricanes enjoyed a number of strong performances in their first competition since the SMU Classic in mid-October.
Miami edged James Madison, 169-129, and beat Michigan State, 154-146. The Hurricanes came up short, 179-121, against the host Panthers.
“I thought we did pretty well,” head swimming coach Andy Kershaw said. “The girls had a lot of energy and I thought we swam some really disciplined races and executed some great race strategy. The divers came up huge, like they always do. We came up a little short against Pitt – obviously we wanted to take them down, but they’ve got a great team.
“I was really happy to see us get a win over a Big 10 program like Michigan State. James Madison was also a great team, so I was excited to see us be able to come out on top against them.”
Miami got off to a hot start, beginning with two of the best finishes in the women’s 3-meter diving event.
Junior Marcela Maric took top honors with a score of 330.70, edging second-place finisher Meme Sharp of Pitt. Carolyn Chaney came in third, finishing the 3-meter with a score of 278.75.
Redshirt sophomore David Dinsmore cruised to a win in the men’s 1-meter, taking first with a score of 327.70. Freshman Zach Cooper was third (315.65), just behind second-place Joseph Ference of Pitt (316.90).
Freshman Annie Kyriakidis continued her impressive start to her collegiate career with the top finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.75). Kershaw said he was impressed with the efforts of the Nashville native, who outstretched at the last moment to top Lina Rathsack of Pitt (1:03.78).
“I was really proud of Annie for that, especially against a great swimmer like [Rathsack],” he said. “She has shown such maturity as a freshman, it’s great to see.”
Another one of Miami’s top young swimmers, sophomore Manon Viguier picked up a win in her signature 200 freestyle event. Viguier finished in 1:49.99 to top Amanda Richey of Pitt (1:50.83).
After taking second in the 100 backstroke (56.70) earlier in the meet, junior Roxanne Yu picked up Miami’s third win in the lanes with a time of 2:02.08 in the 200 backstroke.
Kyriakidis took second in the 200 breaststroke (2:18.76) while Viguier took second in the 500 freestyle (4:59.07). Sophomore Iliana Oikonomou (fourth, 24.04) and freshman Sydney Knapp (sixth, 24.44) competed in the 50 free.
The Hurricanes women swept the 1-meter diving event, with Chaney (292.90) cruising to a first-place finish. Maric (259.35) and Wally Layland (247.15) took second and third place, respectively. Cooper picked up his first win with a score of 320.80 in the 3-meter.
“We got some great leadership out of our seniors,” Kershaw said. “Julie [Suarez] couldn’t compete but did a great job of firing up the team and keeping them focused. Just a totally team effort, and our freshmen continue to step up and impress.”
