CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami swimming & diving team returned to the newly renovated Whitten University Center Pool for the first time in over seven months Wednesday to officially begin preparation for the spring season.
Head swimming coach Andy Kershaw, assistant coach Caroline Maxvill, manager Zach Hinsley and the Hurricanes swimmers marked the occasion by locking hands and taking a celebratory group plunge into the water before their early morning practice.
“So many emotions – relief, excitement, anticipation,” Kershaw said. “You look around at this pool and it looks so good…we know it’s a place where we can prepare to accomplish all that we’ve set forth.”
The Hurricanes swimmers and divers were forced to practice at nearby pools since the middle of last May while their home underwent a renovation of nearly $1.8 million.
“I’m really excited for our team,” Kershaw said. “This is how it’s supposed to be. This is what their college experience is all about. We started by lifting weights this morning, and to be able to come straight here without having to get into a car like we have for the past seven months, it was an emotional day for all of us.”
The new Whitten University Center Pool, built by the same company (Myrtha) that builds FINA pools for international swimming and diving competitions, is now six inches deeper as part of the renovation.
Other improvements include a new chemical water purification system, new heating and cooling capability, a modern no-coping gutter system, a new deck finish, new lane lines and new pool lighting. The swimming starting blocks were built by Spectrum, while the top of the blocks were a special update from Myrtha.
The Hurricanes car-pooled and drove to nearby pools while they waited for their own home to be finished, and even hosted a meet against Princeton at a nearby high school.
“I have high standards for this team, and I never could have imagined they would have handled it as well as they did,” Kershaw said. “It is a testament to them as people, but also to them as a team. They bonded together.”
“People have down days, and when any one of them has a down day, the rest of them pick that person up. They probably handled it better emotionally than I did, which is just amazing with everything else they have to do.”
Miami is only six weeks away from the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships in Greensboro, N.C. (Feb. 17-19). The Hurricanes are hosting a tri-meet Sat., Jan. 9 (11 a.m.) against Kansas and Rutgers before a Senior Day home meet onFri., Jan. 15 (4 p.m.) against FGCU.
Miami also has dual meets at FAU (Jan. 16, 11 a.m.) and at FIU (Jan. 30, 12 p.m.) before final preparations for the ACC Championships.
“We are getting close. These series of meets we have coming up are preparation for that,” Kershaw said. “This Saturday’s meet is going to be a big test, in that we are probably as tired from a training standpoint as we have been all year. They know the challenges – if they can step up and swim fast now, then going forward, they’ll have the confidence to swim fast at any time.”
Swimming news courtesy of Miami Swimming & Diving.
Any hopes of getting a shot of what the new / refurbished pool looks like?
The picture at the top of the article is a rather odd choice considering Miami doesn’t have a men’s swim team.