OXFORD, Ohio – Miami University’s women’s swimming and diving team is back in the pool Thursday, Dec. 3 through Saturday, Dec. 5 as they host the 22nd Annual Miami Invitational. The RedHawks will be facing off against Denison, Emory, Ball State, Urbana and Toledo in the Nixon Aquatic Center. Kentucky, Cincinnati and Wright States’ divers will also compete. The invitational begins at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3.
The RedHawks are 3-3 in dual meets on the season, with their last meet being a 173-116 loss to Ohio State. Miami’s other two losses came at the hands of Purdue and Eastern Michigan. Xavier, Ball State and Buffalo all fell to the RedHawks this year.
Miami’s leading swimmer is junior Stephanie LeMire, who has earned nine individual, first-place finishes for the RedHawks. She competed in the Arena Pro Series in Minneapolis, Minn. three weeks ago, while the rest of the team was in Columbus. LeMire finished 34th in preliminaries in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:13.46), two spots away from being able to compete in finals, 38th in prelims in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:42.88) and 58th in prelims in the 200-meter IM (2:25.08).
Another notable swimmer for the RedHawks is senior Sara Krueger, the lone swimmer on the team to have won a Mid-American Conference swimmer of the week award this season. Krueger enters the Miami Invitational with four race wins under her belt.
Besides for LeMire and Krueger, watch for junior diver Pei Lin to make a splash this weekend. She was the NCAA runner-up in the three-meter dive and has placed in the top three in all but one meet this season.
Meet the Competition
Ball State- The Cardinals are 1-6 in dual meets on the season, with their only win coming against McMaster on Oct. 24. Miami defeated Ball State by a score of 188-109 back on Oct. 30.
Denison- The Big Red are 4-2 in dual meets this season, with their latest win being a 150.5-149.5 victory over Kenyon. Their other wins came against Illinois-Chicago, the University of Chicago and Xavier.
Emory- The Eagles have won the last five NCAA Division III National Swimming Championships and are 1-2 in dual meets this year. The two losses are the result of matching up against Penn State and Georgia. Emory also finished second out of three teams in the Emory Diving Invitational.
Toledo- The Rockets are 2-3 in dual meets on the season, defeating Ball State and Duquesne. Toledo lost to Akron, Bowling Green and Michigan State.
Urbana- The Blue Knights are 2-4 in dual meets this year, with their most recent being a 152-74 win over Manchester. They most recently competed in the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational, where they placed fifth out of five teams.
Swimming news courtesy of Miami Swimming & Diving.
