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Women swim to victory, men finish fifth at Miami Invitational

Hugh Webster, The Miami Student

This past weekend, the Miami University men and women's swim and dive teams competed against some of college swimming's top programs. After a hard fought meet for the RedHawks, the women were victorious finishing first, while the men finished fifth. This was the first multi-day dual meet for the team, swimming over three days at home in Oxford.

For the women, the highlight of the invitational came from sophomore Ella Moynihan. Moynihan first won the 1650 freestyle, then set a new school record in the 1000 freestyle race with a time of 9:59.40. This beat Amy Miranda's 2003 record of 10:01.23. With the help of Moynihan, the Lady RedHawks finished on top with a score of 1138.5, in front of Emory (643.5), Denison (503) and No. 12 Indiana (256), all of which are top programs in the nation.

Senior Stephanie LeMire came up big for the Red & White, winning the 200 breaststroke event. Swimmers freshman Emma Bradley, redshirt junior Elise Campbell and freshman Izzy Herb also finished in the top three in at least one event. Overall, the 'Hawks had a great showing, providing momentum for the women moving forward.

For the men, a fifth place finish came with a score of 463 ahead of only UW-Milwaukee (352), Missouri-St.Louis (257.5) and Urbana (36). Senior Lucas Brock led the team, finishing fourth in the 100 freestyle and also finishing in fifth with his team in the 400 freestyle relay.

The RedHawk men stood out in the 200 backstroke, with freshman Nicholas Wukovits finishing tenth and sophomore James Wray clocking in ninth.

Denison and Emory, the two powerhouses of Division III swimming, finished in the number one and two spots for the men. Miami was against some of the top competition in the country and was able to place an impressive fifth. The men will learn from this and be ready to swim when they meet the Bearcats in January.

With solid showings from both the men and women RedHawk teams, they will take this momentum gained in the Miami Invitational and continue to work hard through winter break. Both the men and women will face off against the Cincinnati Bearcats on January 11th at 3 p.m. in Cincinnati.