Miami University
Miami Invitational (Day 3)
Women Swimmers Cruise to Victory in Miami Invitational
12/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Dec. 6, 2008
Saturday Evening Results of Miami Invitational in PDF Format 
PHOTO GALLERY FROM SATURDAY'S MIAMI INVITATIONAL
OXFORD, OHIO - It was a Miami Invitational for the ages as Coach Dave Jennings' women's swimming and diving team cruised to nearly a 1,000-point victory in the 15th Annual event at the Nixon Aquatic Center.
During the three-day event, the RedHawk ladies established two Mid-American Conference (MAC) records and 14 varsity records, smashing some sort of standard in nearly every event they swam.
Team-wise, Miami piled up 2,440.5 points, 943 points ahead of runner-up Florida Gulf Coast and 1,140 better than third-place Illinois of the Big Ten Conference. Oakland University from Michigan finished in fourth place with 996 points. Emory, Denison, Cincinnati, Wright State and Marshall rounded out the team standings.
Senior Malarie Schmidt was the star of stars for Miami during the five-session invitational, grabbing two MAC and RedHawk records (100-yard backstroke and the 400 medley relay) and four more Miami marks in relay events.
"I can't say enough about the effort our ladies gave us this weekend," said Head Coach Dave Jennings. "Our relays were absolutely outstanding. It's cliche to say it, but I really attribute our success to talented swimmers and terrific team chemistry. This meet sets us up well for the rest of the season. Our ultimate goal, of course, is to win the MAC championship and this team has the potential to do just that."
Saturday evening's finals began with a bang as Miami's 200-yard medley relay team of Malarie Schmidt, Kelsey Vehr, Nicole Roddenbery and Alyson Schmidt swam to a meet, pool and school-record time of 1:41.35.
In the second final of the evening, Miami's Kasey Carpenter finished :00.29 behind Oakland University's Agnieszka Solan, but set a meet, pool and varsity record with a time of 1:58.73. Carpenter's time was :00.15 faster than the RedHawk record that she set during Saturday morning's prelims.
The women's 500 freestyle saw Maggie French swim an outstanding time of 4:59.82. In the 100 butterfly, Allison Way set a Miami pool and varsity record with a clocking of :54.90. Roddenbery placed third at :55.17.
The 200 breaststroke was a sensational event for Miami as RedHawks took four of the top five finishes. Vehr led the way at 2:15.71, just :00.18 off the varsity record set by Megan Brunn in Saturday morning's prelims. Brunn took second, Paige Iversen placed fourth and Claire Fogarty finished fifth.
Yet another varsity record was set in the 100 freestyle as Alyson Schmidt became the first Miami woman to eclipse 50 seconds. Schmidt's time of :49.59 was a meet, pool and varsity record. Allison Stevens finished second at :50.60.
The 200 individual medley belonged to Miami, too, as Malarie Schmidt claimed a three-second victory over Illinois ace Marissa Clapp. Schmidt swam the distance in a time of 2:01.92. Miami's Brunn placed third.
The action in the diving end of Nixon Aquatic Center was dominated by Miamians as well. In the one-meter competition, Melissa Roemmele, KELSEY ANGNOS and Rachel Smith took first, second and third place, respectively.
The women's final event, the 400 freestyle relay, again was dominated by the RedHawks. The quartet of Alyson Schmidt, Malarie Schmidt, Way and Stevens swam to a Miami record time of 3:22.74, tying a bow on an almost unbelievable weekend.
Jennings's RedHawks don't compete again until January 16 when they travel to the University of Cincinnati.
--www.MURedHawks.com--
