Jayhawks Split Double Dual in Final Florida Meet
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Kansas swimming and diving was a little better, after a little drive – eight miles – and a little rest – less than 20 hours – between competitions, as freshman Haley Bishop claimed an individual win and helped the Jayhawks win the 400-yard medley relay in a double dual split against the University of Miami and Rutgers at Whitten University Center Pool. Kansas outscored Rutgers, 176.5-123.5, but fell to Miami, 178-120 in the Florida sun Saturday.
Bishop, an Apex, North Carolina native, was resilient in tightly contested races all morning. She found herself in a photo finish race to start the day, swimming anchor for the 400-medley relay squad that beat Miami by seventh-tenths of a second (3:50.08). Later she would edge-out Rutgers’ Joanna Wu by five-hundredths of a second in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.98, tallying Kansas’ only individual victory a day after the the Jayhawks dropped a pair of dual swims to No. 13 NC State and FIU in Miami.
“Haley Bishop had two really good meets this weekend,” head coach Clark Campbell said. “She really stepped up today. She had a really nice 50 free and was barely out-touched in the 100 fly, but did really well. Bishop was definitely a high point for KU.”
Kansas senior Bryce Hinde picked up a pair of second-place finishes in the breaststroke events, less than a day after leading KU with two second-place finishes Friday. She turned in a swim of 1:05.65 in the 100 breast and a 2:22.07 in the 200 breast and was topped by Rutgers’ Rachel Stoddard in both contests. Junior Gretchen Pocisk finished third behind her teammate in the 200 breast with a mark of 2:24.26.
Bishop once again found herself in a head-to-head battle in the 100-yard butterfly but was unable to out-kick Miami’s Angela Aglee, finishing second with a time of 55.55. Madison Straight followed suit with a photo finish of her own in the 200-yard individual medley taking second by one-hundredth of a second (2:07.16).
Libby Walker added another second-place finish for KU in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:26.64.
Kansas registered its sixth runner-up finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay, the final event of the day. The relay, made up of Bishop, Molden, Pavlic and Kuchkarova, finished close behind Miami with a time of 1:35.61.
“Today was a little better than yesterday, but still not great,” Campbell said. “Now they know exactly where they are race wise because they hadn’t raced for a few weeks until this weekend. The next challenge is to start relating training to what we are doing in competition. So now they know exactly where they are and what they need to work on.”
The Jayhawks will stay in Florida for another five days and continue their winter training camp in Key Largo before heading back to Lawrence. Kansas’ next competition is slated for Robinson Natatorium, Jan. 23, a quad dual against William Jewell, Tabor College and Morningside College. The meet is Kansas Swimming and Diving’s Club Day, with a full Fun Zone, t-shirt toss, and student-athlete panel scheduled for one of the meet’s breaks. As with any Kansas home meet, there is no charge for admission.
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