The Miami swim & diving team split its tri-meet Saturday afternoon at the Doral Aquatic Center, defeating host FIU 180–119 but falling to visiting Harvard 108.5–189.5 in one of its final tune-ups before the postseason.
The Hurricanes used a dominant performance on the diving boards and a series of strong finishes in the middle and distance-freestyle events to separate themselves from FIU early, but ultimately could not keep pace with the Crimson’s depth across the meet.
Junior Chiara Pellacani headlined the afternoon for Miami, sweeping both springboard events with wins in the 1-meter (359.10) and 3-meter (330.15). Teammate Margo O’Meara followed closely behind, placing second in both the 1-meter (356.00) and 3-meter (326.50), giving the Hurricanes a one-two finish in each event, providing a critical point cushion against the Panthers.
In the pool, senior Kate Sommerstad opened the scoring with a second-place performance in the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:28.50), setting the tone for Miami’s distance group. Sophomore Ashlyn Massey kept the strong momentum going with a runner-up finish in the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.91), helping the Hurricanes build an early advantage over FIU.
Savannah Barr added to Miami’s point total with a third-place showing in the 100-yard freestyle (51.48), while Phoebe Mayo delivered the Hurricanes’ first individual swimming victory of the meet, touching first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:02.53. Teammate Sarah Sensenbrenner followed closely behind in second (2:02.77) to secure another critical one-two finish for Miami.
Freshman Sophie Lenze continued the Hurricanes’ strong distance effort with a second-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle (5:00.53), and Massey later added more points in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing second with a time of 55.36.
With the regular season winding down, Miami will look to carry Saturday’s momentum into its next meet when the Hurricanes travel to Atlanta on Friday, Jan. 24, to face Georgia Tech and South Carolina.