Dec. 5, 2009

Results

OXFORD, Ohio--It didn't match their record-breaking performance of 2008, but the women's swimming and diving team's effort was outstanding in its own way Saturday night, claiming the 16th Annual Miami Invitational title by 883 points over its closest finisher.

Coach Dave Jennings's RedHawks piled up 2,321 points while runner-up Florida Gulf Coast finished with 1,438. Emory placed third (1,355), Oakland was fourth (1,008), Illinois finished fifth (1,004), Denison was sixth (919), Cincinnati placed seventh (735), Wright State was eighth (608), UW-Milwaukee finished ninth, and Tsinghua University from China who competed with a single diver placed 10th (72).

The RedHawk women started Saturday evening with an outstanding performance in the 200-yard medley relay, touching the wall in an NCAA B cut time of 1:42.63. Freshman Leah Thornton led things off, followed by junior teammates Kelsey Vehr and Nicole Roddenbery, and anchored by freshman Katie Arlinghaus. It was the third-best 200 medley relay time in school history. Miami's B team placed fifth (1:45.82).

Thornton registered a winning time of 2:00.65 in the 200 backstroke, the fourth-best clocking in that event in Miami history. Teammate Kasey Carpenter placed fifth in a time of 2:03.12.

Miami's Allison Way won the 100 butterfly final in a time of 55.02 as she and teammates Maegan O'Connor (55.56), Bekka Westrick (55.63), Thornton (55.86) and Nicole Roddenbery (56.17) claimed the first five spots. It was a season-best time for Way, O'Connor, Westrick and Thornton. RedHawk teammate Brittney Rohr placed seventh (56.58).

Vehr, Miami's breaststroker extraordinaire, set a pool and meet record in the 200-yard event, swimming the distance in a Div. 1 B qualifying time of 2:14.72. It was the third-best time in Miami history. Megan Brunn, who finished third in a time of 2:18.15, knocked more than a second off her previous season-best clocking. Stacie Clagg in eighth place (2:22.54) and Claire Fogarty in ninth (2:23.46) also had season-best performances.

Freshman Danica Roskos placed third in the women's one-meter diving event, while teammates Kelsey Anagnos, Cory Bangs and Rachel Smith were fifth, eighth and tenth, respectively.

Way and Arlinghaus placed sixth and seventh in the 100 freestyle.

In the 200 individual medley, Miami's Brunn, Arlinghaus and Vehr placed third, sixth and eighth in the "A" final.

Miami won the final women's event, the 400 freestyle relay, in a time of 3:26.05. That ranks as the third-best time in RedHawk swimming history. The team of Westrick, Way, Arlinghaus and Radke edged out runner-up Oakland by just 12 one-hundredths of a second.

The next action for Miami is January 15 when it hosts the University of Cincinnati.

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