Miami University
MAC Championships (Evening Session)
Miami Women's Swimming and Diving Wins 12th MAC Championship
3/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
March 2, 2002
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Miami won its 12th Mid-American Conference Championship in most bizarre fashion Saturday evening as Ohio's 400 freestyle relay team was disqualified after one of the members of the Bobcat relay re-entered the pool before the completion of the event.
Going into the 400 free relay, the meet's last event, Ohio led Miami by five points, 688-683, meaning the winner of the race would also be the winner of the meet. The RedHawk quartet of seniors Kelly Janura (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and Colleen Rambasek (Kettering, Ohio/Alter) and juniors Jackie Hiltman (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) and Lyndsay Barnes (Lexington, Ky./Dunbar) finished more than two seconds behind Ohio's squad in a time of 3:26.23, which bested the school record by .01 seconds. Following the disqualification, however, Miami was awarded first place and, thus, the conference crown.
The Bobcats subsequently filed a formal protest to the Championship Committee, which deemed the disqualification appropriate and upheld the results, sending Miami home with its first MAC Championship since 1999.
"I'm stunned," head coach Dave Jenning said. "Today was a real hard day for myself and (Ohio head) coach (Greg) Werner. There were lots of ups and downs. You never like to see an outcome determined by a disqualification, but unfortunately that's part of the sport."
Miami's winning total was 723 points, followed by Ohio (688), Eastern Michigan (537) and Toledo (427).
Miami started the evening with a bang, going 1-2 in the 1,650 freestyle, with sophomore Amy Miranda (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) defending her crown in the event and freshman Cara Magee (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon) placing runner-up. Miranda's winning time of 16:44.35 broke the nine-year-old pool record by more than six seconds, met the NCAA Provisional Qualifying Standard and was almost 23 seconds faster than Magee's second-place clocking. It is Miranda's second title of the meet, as she won the 500 free on the first day of competition.
Other Miami finalists in the 1,650 were sophomores Elizabeth Roble (Englewood, Colo./Kent) and Katie Scott (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh), who finished sixth and eighth in 17:12.34 and 17:21.46, respectively. Senior Tara Jacobson (Barrington Hills, Ill./St. Bonaventure) claimed a point for coming in 16th.
Also winning her second event of the championships was senior Emily Nayes (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie). She took the 200 breast with a time of 2:18.45, this after claiming the top prize Friday in the 400 individual medley.
Sophomore Casey Mangano (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) nabbed a point for Miami by virtue of her coming in 16th in the 200 breast.
Rounding out the RedHawk winners on the evening is freshman Michelle Reynolds (Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming), whose time of 2:03.10 in the 200 butterfly made the NCAA "B" cut. Junior Heather Kelley (Milwaukee, Wisc./Divine Savior Holy Angels) placed sixth in the event, finishing in 2:05.87, and Scott took 14th in 2:10.01.
In the 200 back, freshman Trisha Lamb (Oregon, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) battled Bobcat sophomore Shannon Kelly to the wire but got edged out, 2:01.97 to 2:02.30. Sophomore Emily Maier (Fort Wright, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) took 13th, touching the wall in 2:09.01, and freshman Katie Miles (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) clocked in at 2:11.30, good for 15th.
The RedHawks had another close call in the 100 free, in which Eastern Michigan's Sarah Conger beat senior Kelly Janura (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), 50.28 to 50.73. Janura's time did break Carly Iagulli's school record, set in 1997, and hit the NCAA "B" Standard.
Not far behind Janura in fourth was junior Jackie Hiltman (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West), who reached the deck in 51.70. Junior Kristen Sivard (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) picked up a point for the RedHawks courtesy of her 16th-place finish.
Nayes, Miranda, Janura and Reynolds were named to the All-MAC First Team. Nayes' selection is her third straight, while Miranda's is her second. For Janura, it is her first first-team accolade after being a second team pick the last two years. Earning second-team honors were Lamb and Magee.
Up next for the RedHawks is the NCAA Region IV Diving Championships, for which freshman Sara Gonso (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) and sophomore Heidi Willemssen (Prior Lake, Minn./Lakeville) qualified, March 15-16 at West Lafayette, Ind.
The swimmers that made NCAA "B" cuts - Nayes, Janura, Miranda, Reynolds and Magee - will have to wait and see if they will get a chance to compete later this month at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.
