Career-bests set at Miami First Chance Invite

By
Andrew Klein
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Junior Aino Otava competes in the 200 yard butterfly to start the Miami First Chance Invite at the Norman Whitten Pool on Feb. 11, 2022. Otava finished with a time of 1:57.24, setting a new school record. Photo credit: Jared Lennon
Junior Aino Otava competes in the 200 yard butterfly to start the Miami First Chance Invite at the Norman Whitten Pool on Feb. 11, 2022. Otava finished with a time of 1:57.24, setting a new school record.
Junior Aino Otava competes in the 200 yard butterfly to start the Miami First Chance Invite at the Norman Whitten Pool on Feb. 11, 2022. Otava finished with a time of 1:57.24, setting a new school record. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

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.

Sophomore Emma Sundstrand competes in the 100 yard breaststroke at the Miami First Chance Invite at the Norman Whitten Pool on Feb. 11, 2022. Sundstrand made the NCAA B cut and ACC top 20 with a time of 1:00.77.
Sophomore Emma Sundstrand competes in the 100 yard breaststroke at the Miami First Chance Invite at the Norman Whitten Pool on Feb. 11, 2022. Sundstrand made the NCAA B cut and ACC top 20 with a time of 1:00.77. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

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.