After fine-tuning his program for the last 18 years, Miami University women's swimming coach Dave Jennings has been able to perfect his recipe for success. Never satisfied with past accomplishments, Jennings is always striving to make his team better for the future, and enters the 2000-2001 season looking to guide his team back to the top of the Mid-American Conference.

Miami's four-year streak of MAC Titles came to end last season when Ohio University took home the championship by a narrow margin. The Bobcats defeated the RedHawks.

"That was hard for our senior swimmers because they had won three consecutive conference titles," Jennings said. "I think they were not use to being second fiddle. It was a good, successful season. Anytime you go from winning to finishing second, that is not bad."

Even though the RedHawks suffered a minor setback last season, the team is poised for its shot at redemption in the 2000-2001 season. Jennings returns 26 letter-winners, which means the returning swimmers swam or dove in three-fourths of last year's scheduled meets and were members of the MAC Swimming and Diving Team. To go along with that, Jennings was able to bring in 11 freshmen (eight swimmers and three divers) to help bring the MAC Championship back to Oxford.

"Our expectations early on are to get the team wound up physically and mentally," Jennings said. "If we are healthy and everyone's head is going in the right direction, we should have a very good team."

Even though the RedHawks have several swimmers returning this season, two departures that will be difficult to replace are Amanda Furlano and Katherine Sheridan -- both lost to graduation.

Furlano was a 1999 MAC Champion in the 200-meter individual medley, 100-meter breaststroke and 400-meter freestyle relay. She followed-up her incredible 1999 season with a first-place finish at the 2000 MAC Championships in the 100-meter breaststroke. Sheridan was a MAC Champion in 1999 in the 500- and 1,650-meter freestyle, and in 2000 she finished fourth in the 1,650 and fifth in the 200.

"We will see if someone can take the place of Furlano or Sheridan," Jennings said. "They were two of our major scorers both during the dual meet season and the championship season. They were our go-to people. If you need a win, needed someone to come through, these two were the ones to do it."

One member of the squad that will be called upon to be a team leader is senior diver Cassie Eakins. She was one of several bright spots last season for the RedHawks.

Eakins had some big shoes to fill entering last season. In 1999, former RedHawk Kelly Harper won the MAC Championship in the one- and three-meter diving events. She was the first Miami diver to win both events since 1983 when Kelly Kurz won the three-meter diving event.

Eakins did more than fill the shoes of Harper; she sketched her name in the Miami athletic history book. Eakins matched Harper by winning both the one- and three-meter at the 2000 MAC Swimming and Diving Championships, which qualified her for the NCAA Diving Championships. Her success throughout the season and at the MAC Championships earned her recognition as MAC Diver of the Year. Eakins was one of two RedHawks to be named to the All-MAC first-team. She also was named Miami's Female Athlete of the Year.

"We wondered a year ago, how do you replace a conference champion." Jennings said. "I guess that question was answered."

Jennings went out and recruited several swimmers to help replace the likes of Furlano and Sheridan. Freshman Amy Miranda is expected to come in and fill the shoes of Sheridan, while freshman Casey Mangano is expected to make up for the loss of Furlano.

Miranda, who will be a key player in the Miami distance core, was a four-time state champion in Kentucky while attending Sacred Heart High School. She was also named the athlete of the year her freshman, junior and senior years. She also has a United States Swimming Junior National Championship under her belt.

Mangano was most valuable swimmer her freshman, sophomore and senior years while attending St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati. She was also a first-team GGCL and an All-American.

"Miranda is the fastest in the 1,000 and 1,650-meter freestyle to ever come to Miami," Jennings said. "She was actually faster than Katherine (Sheridan) when she was at Miami in terms of her performance. Ultimately, we have replaced Katherine very well."

Jennings feels confident about the abilities of Mangano and knows she can be an immediate contributor.

"She is a pretty established swimmer," he said. "We think in the breaststroke we have replaced Amanda in the 100. It will be harder to replace her in the 200 because that was her NCAA national championship qualifying event. However, I think Casey will do the job in that event."

Strong leadership and experience is always a key to a team's success. Once again, the RedHawks will have a great deal of both of these characteristics returning.

Besides Eakins, senior Jenny Schneider and juniors Kelly Janura, Emily Nayes, Hillary Mason and Colleen Rambasek all offer a great deal experience, especially when it comes to competing in the MAC Championships.

After a breakthrough season last year, Janura, a member of the All-MAC second-team, will be one of the top freestyle returners for the RedHawks, and also a serious threat to win a MAC Championship in 2001. She is coming off a second-place finish at the 2000 MAC Championships in the 200- and 400-meter medley relays and the 200-meter freestyle. In the 200 freestyle last season at the championships, Janura's six second time drop will put her at the top of this event at this season's event.

Nayes, who was the other member of the squad to be named to the All-MAC first-team, took second in the 400-meter individual medley and fifth in the 800-meter freestyle relay at the championships. To go along with being a strong swimmer in the individual medley events, she will be the fastest returning breaststroker in the MAC this year.

Mason is one of the strongest swimmers returning in the middle and long distance freestyle races. She will be one of the top returning swimmers in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle.

Rambasek, who was named to the All-MAC second-team, fell short in defending her 1999 championships in the 50-meter freestyle by finishing second. She also took second in the 200-meter freestyle relay and third in the 400-meter freestyle relay. She will be one of the leaders for this year's squad, especially in the sprint freestyle races and the butterfly.

Walk-on sophomore Jackie Hiltman is someone Jennings believes will be a major contributor to the squad. She made huge improvements in both the 100- and 200-meter freestyle. She improved her times from 25.5 seconds and 57.8 seconds to 24.60 and 53.03, respectively.

Junior transfer Tara Jacobson, who swam at St. Bonaventure before joining the RedHawks, will add power to the Miami sprint line, and she will enter this year with the fastest time in the 200-meter freestyle.

"I think there is a lot of potential on our team," Jennings said. "I think our team, hopefully, is hungry to get back on top this year.

"Our strengths are going to be in the distance events. I think sprinting might be a strength for us for the first time in a while. We do not have a ton of sprinters, but we have a few that might do well."

With the RedHawks looking to get back to the top of the MAC, Jennings went out and put together a competitive schedule that would make his team better down the road, including showodowns against Purdue, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Xavier, among others. The Indiana Invitational and the Miami Invitational are two big meets they will also compete in.

"We have a tough dual meet schedule early on," Jennings said. "I am putting them in a hot box to compete against some very good teams, which will be interesting to see how they handle it mentally. I think it is good preparation for the end of the season.

After fine-tuning his program for the last 18 years, Miami University women's swimming coach Dave Jennings has been able to perfect his recipe for success.

Never satisfied with past accomplishments, Jennings is always striving to make his team better for the future, and enters the 2000-2001 season looking to guide his team back to the top of the Mid-American Conference.

Miami's four-year streak of MAC Titles came to end last season when Ohio University took home the championship by a narrow margin. The Bobcats defeated the RedHawks .

"That was hard for our senior swimmers because they had won three consecutive conference titles," Jennings said. "I think they were not use to being second fiddle. It was a good, successful season. Anytime you go from winning to finishing second, that is not bad."