You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
Oct 15, 2004 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 15, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Looking back on the Tulane swimming and diving program's first season in over 14 years, the 2003-04 campaign could be considered nothing short of a success.
After all, despite not fielding a diving team, the Green Wave went 13-2 in dual meet action, posted a fifth-place finish in Conference USA, had three swimmers earn All C-USA honors, and another was named C-USA Freshman Swimmer of the Year and earned a spot in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
With the diving program reinstituted for the upcoming season, eight high school standouts and a Division I transfer joining the returning veterans, head coach Daniella Irle has one statement to make to the rest of the swimming and diving community - You ain't seen nothing yet.
"Our goal is to win a Conference USA championship," Irle said. "In order for us to do that, we focused on four things during the offseason - attention to detail, improved depth, perform like a team and add more talent.
"These four elements will exemplify this team. We are going to be a team attentive to detail, because they are smart and sharp and can do that. Depth is a no brainer. We went from 14 swimmers last year to 22, so we are just deeper. Our team mentality is important when you are looking at the pinnacle of things. In addition, we are a bigger, stronger team, and we are a lot more talented."
In addition to a solid sophomore class that includes 2004 all-league honorees Leslie Christian, Linda McEachrane, and Nicole Taheri, the Green Wave have added prep All-Americans Tiffany Brown, Cara Davidoff, Sarah Dicharry, Kate Naglick, Leeann Laing and Sarah Zomchick. Irle also brought home the talents of Slidell, La., native Devlyn Quinn, who starred at West Virginia for three seasons and earned several All-Big East honors.
"I think that we are already a good team, but being good and talented isn't enough," Irle said. "That's where the details, the concept of the team and the power of the pack comes into play. Yes, we're bigger and more talented, but that does not translate into success. It translates into the potential for success. Now, we just have to find the reality of that."
FREESTYLE
For the second time in as many years, the freestylers figure to be a strength of the Tulane team.
Tulane returns the talents of C-USA Freshman of the Year and 2004 Summer Olympics participant Linda McEachrane, along with Katherine McCoy in the sprint events, Nicole Taheri and Elizabeth Carey in the middle distance events, and Leslie Christian, Jessica Hughes and Nellie Langeland in the distance events.
McEachrane won league titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles as a true freshman, Christian paced the league in the 1650-free, and Taheri was second in the mile.
Joining McEachrane and McCoy in the sprint events are newcomers Cara Davidoff and Devlyn Quinn. Davidoff earned All-America honors in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, and Quinn earned All-Big East honors in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles as a junior in 2003 at West Virginia University.
Quinn figures to be a factor in the middle distance events as well after earning all-conference honors in the 200 free in 2003, and will be joined by prep standouts Samantha Berdine, Tiffany Brown and Sarah Dicharry. Brown was an 18-time All-American at Rancho Bernardo High School (San Diego, Calif.), and Dicharry earned All-America honors in both the 200 and 400 free while at St. Joseph's Academy in Gonzalez, La. Tulane will also be aided by the return of Elizabeth Carey and Nicole Taheri in the middle-distance events.
 Leslie Christian was the Conference USA Individual Champion in the 1,650-yard freestyle.  | |
One of the stronger areas on the Green Wave squad a year ago, the distance corps figures to be even stronger in 2004-05. Christian, Taheri, Hughes and Langeland finished first, second, fifth and eighth, respectively, in the mile at the C-USA Championships last season. Berdine could be added to the fold as well, strengthening an area that accounted for 62 points at the league meet.
"Our sprinters' credentials speak for themselves," Irle said. "Linda had an outstanding freshman season, and with the addition of Devlyn Quinn, we'll have a legitimate one-two punch in that area. The middle distance freestyle is probably our most improved event this year. The newcomers will fill in the gap there that was lacking last year, and I feel that we will have the four fastest 200 freestylers in the conference on our team.
"The distance swims were our best event last year, and by adding Berdine to Loo (Christian) and the rest of our milers, I don't think we hurt ourselves at all in that area."
BACKSTROKE
Last season, Tulane's backstroking unit was bitten by the injury bug as Lauren Patterson was lost for the year in the preseason with a shoulder injury. After receiving a medical redshirt and working hard in rehab, she is back, as are sophomores Katherine McCoy, Meggie Underwood and Amanda Williams.
The veteran quartet combined to give the Green Wave three individual dual-meet wins and added 28 points at the Conference USA Championship. This year, Tulane will add the talents of prep standout Tiffany Brown and transfer Devlyn Quinn. Brown earned All-America honors in the 100-yard backstroke as a prepster, and Quinn will add much-needed Division I experience from her days at West Virginia.
"We felt we were a little weak in our sprint backstroke last year," Irle said. "Lauren Patterson is back and we brought in some help. Now, we are six-deep in both the 100 and 200, and that will help us in all our meets this year. The addition of Tiffany Brown will be a valuable asset to the team from a relay perspective as well."
BREASTSTROKE
The Green Wave return sophomores Maureen Quinn and Linda McEachrane among the breaststrokers, who combined to post three individual wins and 17 points at the C-USA meet. Quinn was the workhorse for Tulane as the only true breaststroker, and McEachrane earned third-team all-conference honors in the 100 breast.
Joining the foray for the upcoming season are freshmen Samantha Berdine, Jamie Shufflebarger and Sarah Zomchick. Berdine brings solid club experience, Shufflebarger was a consolation finalist in the 100 and 200 breast at the 1999 and 2003 Pan American games as a member of the Virgin Islands World Championship team, and Zomchick won a Delaware state title in the 100 breast at Newark High.
 One of the key additions in the offseason was Devlyn Quinn, who transferred to Tulane after three seasons at West Virginia University. | |
"We had very little depth in the breaststroke last year, but I think we really helped ourselves here in the recruiting process," Irle said. "We have Maureen Quinn coming back and she is the one we will lean on, and Linda will continue to help us. We have added three freshmen - Sarah, Jamie and Samantha. We have three freshmen here, but I am not overly concerned about that. This might be the pivotal event for us."
BUTTERFLY
A year ago, Tulane had just two swimmers with experience racing butterfly. This year, the Green Wave has three veteran flyers on its roster and has added a glut of talented newcomers at the position.
Taylor Emerson returns as the team's top flyer, posting three individual dual-meet wins and scoring 28 points at the Conference USA Championship with a fifth-place finish in the 200 fly and a sixth-place showing in the 100. She will be joined by veterans Nicole Taheri and Amanda Williams, as well as freshmen Cara Davidoff, Leeann Laing, Kate Naglick and Jamie Shufflebarger.
Rookies Davidoff and Laing bring All-American rèsumès to the Green Wave, Shufflebarger adds international experience, and Naglick qualified for the Michigan State Championships in the 100 fly.
"Fly was an event that we were strong in last year, but lacked depth," Irle said. "This year, we have filled in some gaps. Taylor Emerson is our No. 1 returnee, but she needs some help. We are still not as deep as we would like to be, but Taylor, Kate and Leeann are so good, we really don't need to be all that deep."
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
In what Irle calls the "second-most improved" group on the team, the Tulane
 Sophomore Amanda Williams scored 34 points in the 2004 Conference USA Championship, including 16 in the individual medley events. | |
The veteran trio did a solid job for the Green Wave last season, as the unit combined for 40 points at the C-USA Championship. Berdine posted career-best times of 2:08.20 in the 200 individual medley and 4:33.95 in the 400 event, and Dicharry helped her high school squad post four consecutive Marine League Championships. Laing earned three straight first-team all-county honors to conclude her prep career, and Zomchick won a state title in the 200 IM as a senior.
"We needed quality bodies for the IM last year, and now we have that," Irle said. "Our top four IMers from the preseason are all freshmen - the two Sarahs, Samantha and Leeann. The 200 IM is on the first day of the conference meet, and if you can't put up the numbers in the beginning, you really swim from behind the rest of the way. The IM became a major focus for us, and that's why we recruited this event so highly."
RELAYS
During its first year back in the pool in 2003-04, Tulane used the "learn as you swim" approach in its relay events, using different combinations throughout the year. That turned in positive results as the teams showed steady improvement and posted season-best times at the Conference USA Championship.
The Tulane relay teams combined for 144 points at the league meet. Once again leading the way in the relay events is Linda McEachrane, who participated in four of the five relays where she provided solid leadoff times as well as a dominating anchor when called on.
"Our relays will be 100 percent improved this year," Irle said. "Our freshmen will fill in some gaps, and our upperclassmen are much improved and more confident. We expect our relay teams to score over 200 points collectively this year at the Conference USA Championships."
DIVING
While Tulane enjoyed what some may call surprising success in its return to action in 2003-04, the upcoming season will see the rebirth of the diving program. The Green Wave has just one diver, freshman Danielle Carrillo, but at the very least, Tulane will no longer simply forfeit the diving points in 2004-05.
Carrillo earned All-America honors as a senior at Inglemoor High (Kirkland, Wash.) where she also garnered first-team all-district and second-team all-state recognition after finishing runner-up in the state.
"I feel that Danielle will help lay a solid foundation for the future of our program," Irle said. "We are confident in her, but Danielle is only one person. We will need our swimmers to help ease the pressure until we can add more divers in the upcoming years."
SCHEDULE
Tulane will host four meets and will once again face some of the area's top programs on the road during the 2004-05 season. The Green Wave will battle Arkansas and the University of New Orleans at the Riley Student Recreation Center on Oct. 30, Arkansas-Little Rock and UNO on Nov. 13, North Texas on Oct. 8, and Rice on Jan. 29.
The road schedule includes a trip to Ohio for the Akron Fall Championship from Dec. 3-5, the Florida International Invitational on Dec. 30, and Nevada and San Jose State on Feb. 5 in Reno before culminating at the C-USA Championships on Feb. 23-26 in Houston, Texas.
Tulane will also host its first Swimming & Diving Alumni Day on Jan. 29 prior to its showdown with future Conference USA opponent Rice.
"We wanted to swim a very competitive schedule that will really challenge what I think is going to be a very good team," Irle said. "Arkansas, Florida State, Nevada and Rice are teams that have been nationally ranked year in and year out, and it should be fun to get the rivalry with UNO going again now that they have restarted their program as well."
Players Mentioned
