Rockets finish third at Miami Invitational

The University of Toledo women’s swimming and diving team closed out the fall semester with a third-place finish at the three-day Miami Invitational.

At the end of day one of the invite, the Rockets sat in fourth place with 462 points. Toledo had nine athletes finish with a top 10 score, including seniors Lauren Comer and Brooke Edwards.

Comer finished second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:50.64 and junior Rachael Hester finished eighth with a time of 4:58.46.

Edwards took home a fifth-place finish in the 50 free with a time of 23.55.

“The girls did really well,” said Head Coach Chris Peters. “We are a young team and the girls have their eyes and ears open, just willing to learn more.”

Sophomore Katrin Streicher finished sixth in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:05.16.

To end day one, the Rockets finished second in the 400 medley, tallying a time of 3:44.46.

The Miami RedHawks finished with 659 points giving them the lead going into day two. Behind them were Emory with 479.5 points and Denison with 465.5 points.

“In this sport you’re not always satisfied,” Peters said. “The effort was there, but we still need to work on some small details.”

Going into day two, Edwards, Streicher and Senior Sammy Richart all tallied an individual win on the day.

Richart finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.61 while Streicher took first in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing with a time of 55.33.

In the 200-yard freestyle, the Rockets took home the top three spots with Edwards coming in the front with a time of 1:49.49. Behind her was Comer with a 1:50.47 time and sophomore Maggie Hack with a time of 1:51.27.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Peters said. “They’re making each session better than the last one.”

Closing out the day, the Rockets finished second in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 7:30.00.

Toledo finished day two in third place with 1068 points, just behind Miami and Emory.

On the final day, the Rockets looked to jump two places to end the invite in first. To start the day off, Edwards finished second in the 100-yard freestyle, notching a time of 50.81.

Streicher too notched a second-place finish with a 2:02.19 time in the 200-yard butterfly. Behind her in third was freshman Julie Schmidt with a time of 2:03.98.

Richart, sophomore Brittany Putoff and Hester all finished within the top ten in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing third, seventh and ninth.

In the 1,650-yard freestyle, Hester finished sixth, whereas Hack finished in eighth.

To end the night, Comer touched fourth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:00.65.

The Rockets closed out the invitational with 1571 points, finishing in third place overall.

Seniors Richart, Comer and Edwards all tallied victories in individual events, setting the pace for the Rockets.

“Those girls work the hardest on the team,” Peters said. “They talk the talk, but they definitely back it up.”

While it may not be the result they wanted, Peters said this performance is a huge step forward for the team.

During the holiday break, the Rockets will go home to their respective families before traveling to Orlando before January where they will train for the upcoming semester season.

“While it is a break, it is our most important month as far as training goes,” Peters said.

The Rockets will open their spring semester by hosting Oakland on Saturday, Jan. 9 at the UT Rec Center.