NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt swimming begins the second half of its season Tuesday when it faces host Miami (Fla.) as well as Iowa in a meet that will get underway at 1 p.m. CT at the Whitten Center Pool.
It will be the first competition for the Commodores since finishing second at the Gamecock Invitational, a three-day meet in Columbia, South Carolina, that was held Nov. 15-17.
“We’re just looking forward to getting the chance to compete and starting this half of our season,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “We need to get back into racing mode again, which is going to be a little bit of a change because it has been a little while since we’ve done it, while also preparing for this stretch of four meets in four consecutive weekends we have coming up before the SEC Championships.”
The Dores set season-best marks in all but two individual events as well as all five relays at South Carolina, highlighted by school-record performances in both the 400 free and 400 medley relays. Ellie Taliaferro (100 and 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley) and Mercedes Traba (500, 1,000 and 1,650 free) have the team’s fastest times in three events each, with Grace Ciaramitaro (200 backstroke and 400 IM), Faith Knelson (100 and 200 breaststroke) and Kailia Utley (100 and 200 butterfly) also leaders in multiple races.
Knelson became the first Commodore to post an NCAA B Standard time—qualifying in the 100 breast—at the Gamecock Invitational, and she has also achieved the CSCAA NIC B Standard in two other events this season. Utley has met the NIC B Standard in a team-high four races with Abby Francis qualifying in three, while Ciaramitaro, Megan Ciezczak, Sophia Kosturos and Taliaferro have reached the mark in multiple events as well.
This will be the Dores’ third all-time visit to Coral Gables, and first since taking on the Hurricanes in a three-day competition in November 2020. Vandy defeated Iowa, 138-124, in a dual meet at Centennial Sportsplex on Oct. 28 earlier this season, and are 1-0-1 all-time against the Hawkeyes.
