Career-bests set at Miami First Chance Invite

The Hurricanes had a great team performance in their final home swim and dive meet of the season at the Whitten Center Pool. The Canes were led by junior Aino Otava, who finished with a career-best time of 1:57.24 in her signature event.

“One of the cool things about [Otava’s performance], is that [it] was the first event and she’s up there all by herself,” Miami head swimming coach Andy Kershaw said.

Otava was not the only Hurricane with a career-best tally on the night, with senior Grace McGinnis and junior Nicole Sowell recording times of 1:51.53 and 1:51.62 in the 200-yard freestyle, respectively.

“We had a lot of best times, a lot of really good swims,” Kershaw said.

UM senior Sydney Knapp managed a ‘B’ cut in the 50-yard freestyle, and sophomore Emma Sundstrand was able to accomplish the same thing in the 100-yard breaststroke. Miami freshman Jacey Hinton finished the 100-yard freestyle with the fourth-best performance in school history, finishing with a time of 49.66.

“This meet was fun, for sure,” Kershaw said. “This team makes it fun.”

Next up, Miami will compete in the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships from Feb. 15-19 in Atlanta.