Swim / Dive Travels to Atlanta for Pair of Meets
ATLANTA – The University of Miami women’s swimming & diving team returns to competition this weekend, as the Hurricanes head to the McAuley Aquatic Center for a pair of meets hosted by Georgia Tech.
The Hurricanes (1-1) will face off against the Yellow Jackets as well as FGCU and SCAD in a quad-meet Friday at 3 p.m. before a tri-meet with Tech and Notre Dame Saturday at 11 a.m.
“I’m very excited for this weekend, to be able to swim against some great competition,” head swimming coach Andy Kershaw said. “I love the fact that we get to race on both Friday and Saturday.
“Competing against the two ACC teams will be very beneficial for us in preparing for ACC Championships, but we also get to go up against some other great teams on Friday.”
The Hurricanes had a select travel squad take part in the SMU Classic in Dallas last weekend, but Kershaw said he is excited to see the entire team perform as a unit in Atlanta.
Among Miami’s top performers in Dallas were redshirt sophomore diver Alicia Blagg, freshman Maria Artigas Fernandez and freshman Zorry Mason.
“I’m really excited for the experience for the team,” he said. “It’s great to be back together after last week being a little bit divided, in terms of how many we’re allowed to bring to SMU.”
While Miami impressed against a talented field at the SMU Classic, several swimmers who did not make the trip enjoyed personal best times during practices held on campus at the Whitten Pool.
“The swimming that we did last week – considering it’s October and with the amount of hard work our team has put in – to have as many top-levels times as we had, is truly amazing,” he said. “I’m really, really proud of them and have commended them for that.”
Now, Kershaw said, the challenge is for the team to turn around and put forth another strong performance this weekend as it continues its fall schedule.
“That’s our task and they know it, they’re game for it, they’re excited it,” he said. “We’ve entered a different phrase of our training, so it’ll be interesting to see how their bodies respond to it. But for the long run, it’s certainly the right formula and this is all part of it.
“It’s great to go to the blocks as a full team as much as we can, and Friday and Saturday are two more chances to do that.”
Following their weekend in Atlanta, the Hurricanes return to training before hosting back-to-back meets in early November. Miami welcomes Boston College on Nov. 2 for a dual meet at 3 p.m., and will face off against the Eagles and FAU in a tri-meet on Nov. 3, slated for a 9:30 a.m. start time.
