Tartans Place Third at Total Performance Invitational

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's swimming and diving team closed competition at the Kenyon College Total Performance Invitational on Saturday, December 5. The team finished third, surpassing Division I Davidson College on the final night.

Sophomores Mary St. John (Bethesda, Md./Sidwell Friends School) and Miranda Ford (Skillman, N.J./Montgomery) both swam season-best times in the 500-yard freestyle finishing 28th and 29th in the evening swim. Their best times of the day came in the preliminaries when they touched in 5:15.82 and 5:15.95, respectively.

Senior Kira Singhaus (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) paced the Tartans in the 200-yard backstroke, placing 12th in a season-best time of 2:07.04. Senior Paige Sieffert (Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline) touched just behind her in 2:07.23.

Junior Gillian Crews (Fairfax, Va./Oakton) had her best swim of the season in the 100-yard butterfly, touching eighth in 56.76 to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships. Junior Shieri Suzuka (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) knocked more than three seconds off her season-best time in the event and touched in 57.11 to finish 12th.

The Tartans were led by sophomore Kimberly Hochstedler (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn) in the 200-yard breaststroke when she finished 10th in 2:25.99. Junior Natalie Kronfli (Potomac, Md./Stone Ridge) swam a season-best in the same event, touching in 2:26.68 to place 15th.

Two Tartans swam in the A final of the 100-yard freestyle with junior Allison Kirkby (West Chester, Pa./Conestoga) touching seventh in 52.95 and freshman Jessie Li (Superior, Colo./Fairview) touching 10th in 53.82.

Freshman Hera Miao (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South) finished the 200-yard IM in 2:13.48 for a season-best time, touching 23rd while sophomore Sarah Winget (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) was 27th in a season-best time of 2:16.28.

Senior Winona Li (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) led the Tartans in 3-meter diving, placing second with 451.10 points. Junior Machika Kaku (Irvine, Calif./University) finished third with 450.80 points while senior Andie Azofeifa (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) placed fourth with 417.60 points. All three meet the qualifying standard for the regional diving meet, with Li solidfying her place with her second qualifying score.

The 400-yard freestyle relay closed the meet with Li, Crews, sophomore Tiana Marrese (Pittsburgh, Pa./South Fayette) and Kirkby completing the event in 3:34.28 to place seventh.

The Tartans will next face competition in the pool on Saturday, January 16 at Westminster College against the Titans and SUNY Geneseo.