University of Miami Invite/Vanderbilt Duel
- Wednesday, November 18-Friday, November 20
- Teams: University of Miami (FL), Vanderbilt
- University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida
- Prelims/Finals
- Prelims @9AM Eastern, Finals @6PM Eastern
- 2021 NCAA Championship Qualifying Times
- Day 1 Finals Results
- Day 2 Finals Results
- Day 3 Finals Results
- Full Meet Results
Miami and Vanderbilt wrapped up their mid-season invitational/duel on Friday in Coral Gables, FL. Though Miami came out on top it wasn’t a blowout and Vanderbilt stayed competitive throughout.
500 free and 400 IM champion Aino Otava won the 1650 freestyle by nearly 25 seconds, posting a 16:48.48, a new lifetime best for Otava by 20 seconds. Otava was also awarded the Miami ‘MVP’ team award for her three victories and relay contributions. Coming in 2nd place and taking 8 seconds from her previous best time was Vanderbilt’s Krislyn Porter in a 17:13:14. Otava later won the 200 fly in 2:01.52, getting to the wall half a second ahead of teammate Isabel Traba who finished 2nd in 2:02.03. Miami’s Chandler Sensibaugh placed 5th though she registered the third-fastest time overall in the 200 fly with a 2:06.25.
Miami’s Alaina Skellet took the 200 backstroke by 2.5 seconds in 1:59.36, a little over 3 seconds off her best time, making her the only swimmer to finish under 2:00. Vanderbilt’s Tonner Debeer put up a 2:01.82 to take 2nd, nearly 3 seconds off her best time. Vanderbilt swept all available points in the ‘B’ final of the 200 backstroke.
Miami finished 1-2 in the 100 freestyle with Savannah Barr and Carmen San Nicolas Martinez raking in 37 points for Miami. Barr won by a sizable margin, cranking out a 50.30 to San Nicolas Martinez’s 51.05. Vanderbilt’s Eleanor Beers was out fast but didn’t finish as strongly as San Nicolas Martinez, finishing 3rd in 51.10. Miami’s Sydney Knapp put up the third-fastest time though she only placed 5th, winning the ‘B’ final in 51.12.
After getting an NCAA ‘B’ cut in the 100 breaststroke yesterday, Miami’s Emma Sundstrand took the win again on Friday in the 200 breaststroke, falling short of the NCAA ‘B’ standard but still winning by over 2 seconds. For Sundstrand, this represents a 3 second drop from prelims and a 5 second improvement overall. Vanderbilt’s Lizzy Colwell placed 2nd in 2:18.74, about 4 seconds slower than her lifetime best from 2018.
The Miami team of Sundstrad, San Nicolas Martinez, Barr, and Knapp captured the victory in the 400 freestyle relay, finishing in 3:22.36, more than 3 seconds ahead of the top team from Vanderbilt which finished in 3:25.81. Barr, swimming the third leg of the relay, had the fastest split in the field and was the only swimmer to break 50 seconds, producing a 49.76. Miami’s ‘B’ team placed 3rd in the relay in 3:29.83, and then Vanderbilt’s ‘B’ team 4th in 3:30.89. Debeer, who placed 3rd in the 100 free earlier, was one of only four swimmers to crack the 51-second barrier on the relay with a 50.91 as the second swimmer on Vanderbilt’s ‘A’ relay.
Final Standing
- Miami, 946
- Vanderbilt, 892
Scoring for this meet is different than we’re used to. The top-4 finishers are awarded points as if they were finishing in the top-4 at a traditional invitational or championship meet, whereas the swimmers that place 5th through 8th score as if they were finishing 9th through 12th in a traditional championship meet. This means that points are awarded accordingly:
- 1st = 20
- 2nd = 17
- 3rd = 16
- 4th = 15
- 5th = 9
- 6th = 7
- 7th = 6
- 8th = 5
- 9th & on = 0
Furthermore, the ‘A’ finals consist of only the 2 fastest swimmers from each team following prelims, ensuring that each school has two representative in the ‘A’ final, though the ‘B’ final may contain up to 8 swimmers, per usual, though only those that place within the top-4 in the heat will earn their team points.
Relays, however, score double (per usual), though only 4 teams, 2 from each Miami and Vanderbilt, may compete in the ‘A’ final for points, meaning 1st place earns 40 points, 2nd place 34 points, 3rd place 32 points, and 4th place 30 points.
