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Dec. 2, 2003

OXFORD, Ohio -

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Miami University's men's swimming & diving team hits the pool this weekend when it hosts the Miami Invitational at the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center. Eight teams from around the region will ascend on Oxford for the 10th annual event, which begins on Friday, Dec. 5, and goes through Sunday, Dec. 7.

This Week: The RedHawks gear up for the 10th annual Miami Invitational at the Nixon Aquatic Center, Dec. 5-7. Among the eight men's teams scheduled to participate at the Invite are Cincinnati, Lewis and Wheeling Jesuit, as well as Carnegie Mellon, Emory and Johns Hopkins from the University Athletic Association. Highlighting the field is Kenyon, the winner of the last 24 Division III National Championships.

The Lords enter the weekend having the best season so far, posting a 4-0 record and coming off a first-place showing at the Wabash Invitational. Hopkins' record sits at 4-2, after a triangular sweep on Nov. 15.

Last Time Out: Miami split a pair of local rivalry meets their last time out, falling at Wright State in Dayton on Nov. 21, before edging Xavier at home on the 22nd.

Freshman Paul Ricard (Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green) remained undefeated in the 500 and 1000 freestyle events, as the Red and White fell, 128-115, to the Raiders, while three RedHawks won multiple events in a 115-85 win over Xavier.

Swimmer Of The Week: Paul Ricard continued the hot start to his collegiate career, picking up three wins in Miami's last weekend of action to earn his first career MAC Swimmer of the Week award. A distance swimmer, Ricard remained perfect in both the 500 and 1000 freestyle events, winning both at Wright State on Friday, Nov. 21, with times of 4:43.69 and 9:45.14, respectively. On Saturday, the 22nd, Ricard won the 200 fly, and finished second in the 50 free to round out his weekend.

Senior Andrew Keefe (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and junior Peter Donohue (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) previously won back-to-back awards for Miami on Nov. 3 and Nov. 10.

Fast Freshmen: Freshmen Paul Ricard and Griffin Marshall (Dallas, Texas/Jesuit College Prep) pushed their records to 4-0 in their marquee events with wins over Ball State on Nov. 15. Ricard, a distance specialist, has won each of his first four 500 free events competed in this season, and won both of his attempts in the 1000 free. Marshall, on the other hand, has won all four of his breast events this season, claiming the 100 breast at Cleveland State, before picking up 200 breast wins against Buffalo, Ball State and Wright State.

Super Senior: A reason for the RedHawks' quick start this season is the performance of senior Andrew Keefe. After picking up a win in the 200 freestyle and second-place showing in the 100 free in the season-opener at Cleveland State, Keefe has posted multiple wins at three of Miami's last four meets. At Buffalo, Keefe won both the 100 and 200 free, as well as the 400 free relay. Keefe picked up another first-place finish with the 400 free relay, and also won the 50 and 100 free events. He has had a streak of six consecutive individual and relay wins, while winning nine-of-14 events overall on the season.

Preseason Poll: Miami was picked to finish third at this year's MAC Championships according to a preseason poll conducted among MAC coaches. The RedHawks, who finished fourth at last year's meet, were picked behind defending champion Eastern Michigan and Ball State. EMU will be seeking its league-record 23rd MAC crown, while BSU was picked to repeat its second-place finish of a year ago. Buffalo and Ohio rounded out the poll, being picked fourth and fifth, respectively.

Up Next: Miami will take the holidays off for training, as the swimmers travel to Florida, while the divers join the women, and diving coach Todd Spohn, in Hawaii. The RedHawks' next meet is Jan. 8, at the Ed Kennedy Relays in Plantation, Fla.