NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane swimming and diving team picked up a 182-111 victory in its home opener against the Vanderbilt Commodores Saturday afternoon at the Reily Center Natatorium. The squad claimed 11 first-places finishes at the meet.
“Overall, I think we did a very good job as a team,” head coach Katie Robinson said. “This is a team that we have been swimming against for many years in a row, and it’s good to protect our house today. We came away with some great swims, and even if we didn’t get first place in the event, we were going so fast today, giving us a lot better improvement in our times. So, as a coach, I’m very happy with this team’s performance. This spirit with this team is very high, and we’ve got a lot of momentum on our side to move into the rest of the season.”
Tulane was again dominant in relay action, opening and closing the meet with top finishes.Shelly Zelnick, Mia Schachter, Ellie Sills and Paris Zhang got things going for the Green Wave finishing the 200 medley relay in 1:44.00. To close out the meet, Zhang, Zelnick,Emma Lincoln and Schachter notched another No. 1 finish in the 400 free relay.
Natalie Clausen helped keep the momentum going for the Green Wave following the relay when she finished first in the 1000 free (10:17.57), and Roni Meyer added a third-place finish (10:41.99) in the same event. Clausen later notched another top finish, claiming the 500 free in 5:04.02.
Tulane took places 2-5 in the 200 free, led by Alex Lakota (1:54.50), before Zelnick and Zhang continued to shine in their debut seasons. Zelnick claimed the 100 back (56.47) and 200 back (2:03.78), while Zhang finished first in the 50 free (24.19) and second behind school record holder, Schachter, in the 100 free (51.79).
Schachter’s top finish in the 100 free (51.65) was her second of the day, after claiming the 100 breast (1:02.69). She was followed by Joy Jason, who placed third (1:05.27). Jason also added a second-place finish in the 200 breast event (2:22.81).
Ellie Sills continued her success in the butterfly, finishing second in the 200 fly (2:02.65) and 100 fly (56.18). Holly Grender also added a pair of second-place finishes for the Green Wave, notching a time of 2:04.87 in the 200 back, and 4:30.04 in the 400 IM.
Tulane added a great edge in diving, sweeping the events. Senior Lauren Arnold claimed the top spot in both the 1-meter (294.97) and 3-meter (303.45) events.
The Green Wave will take two weeks away from competition, but remain at home when they return to action, hosting SMU on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m.
Swimming news courtesy of Tulane Swimming & Diving.