Tartans Feeling Confident Before Total Performance Invitational
(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's swimming and diving team is off to a great start for the 2014-2015 season. The team is currently 6-0 in dual meets this year and head into the Kenyon College Total Performance Invitational with a College Swimming Coaches Association of America ranking of 19.
The women have had strong performances from the first-year athletes and returning All-America Honorable Mention Felicia Wang (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) to start the year. Wang has finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke twice this year and has a season best time of 1:08.60. She is also part of the 200-yard medley relay which currently has a season best time of 1:49.70 where she swam the breaststroke leg in 30.28. Joining Wang as the top breaststroker on the team is freshman Kimberly Hochstedler (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn). In individual races, Hochstedler has won the 100-yard breaststroke at three meets and the 200-yard breaststroke twice. She currently holds the team best times of 1:08.00 and 2:30.51 in the respective events.
Freshman Emma Shi (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) earned University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week honors following the fourth meet of the season where she won the 200-yard freestyle and the 400-yard IM in team top times of 1:57.38 and 4:37.93. Shi has won six events to date, showing her versatility in the freestyle, 200-yard backstroke and both IM events. Junior Kira Singhaus (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West), a returning All-America Honorable Mention honoree, holds the top time in the 100-yard backstroke (1:00.23) an event she's placed second in each meet.
Sophomore Kimberly Klausing (North Potomac, Md./Thomas Wootton) and freshman Miranda Ford (Skillman, N.J./Montgomery) have been battling in the distance freestyles as one or the other has finished in the top three at each meet in the 1,000-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle. Freshman Tiana Marrese (Pittsburgh, Pa./South Fayette) has shown well in the sprint freestyle, winning each event once and placing second or third on multiple occasions. Her top time of 25.17 in the 50-yard freestyle won the meet against Clarion and she swam a 24.91 to close the 200-yard medley relay.
In the butterfly, sophomore All-America Honorable mention Gillian Crews (Fairfax, Va./Oakton) won the 100-yard event in a team best 59.27 on November 15 while freshman Sarah Winget (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) swam a lifetime best of 2:12.81 in the 200-yard butterfly which placed her third at the meet against Grove City and University of Rochester.
The Tartans are looking forward to the challenge the Total Performance Invitational provides as they'll swim against top Division I and III opponents.