Tulane University
FIU Invitational
Swimming & Diving Finishes Second At FIU Invitational
Jan 2, 2005 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Jan. 2, 2005
MIAMI, Fla. - Sophomore Leslie Christian and Nicole Taheri won the 1000- and 500-yard freestyles, respectively, as the Tulane University swimming and diving team finished second out of eight teams at the FIU Invitational and posted a 174-49 dual-meet win over Penn Sunday afternoon at the Bay Vista Aquatic Center.
In addition to the two individual wins, Tulane also had seven second-place finishes and a pair of third-place showings to finish the one-day event with 499 points. The Green Wave were without the services of 2004 Olympian Linda McEachrane due to illness as the team finished just 40 points behind tournament winner Purdue (539). The Boilermakers, who are receiving votes for the Top 25 and have been ranked previously this season, had six individual victories and won both relay events.
"We're very happy with our showing today," head coach Daniella Irle said. "One of the reasons we chose this invitational is because Purdue was going to be here. They're a tried and true team, so this was going to be a benchmark performance for us.
"We reduced Linda's load because of her being sick, and we've had some other girls feeling a bit under the weather today, but that's all part of it. We raced hard, we're not at full strength, but you can't use that as an excuse. I thought we handled it well. Any time you can run with teams like Purdue, you've got to be pleased."
Christian topped the field in the 1000 free with a time of 10:35.99, finishing over two seconds ahead of fellow sophomore teammate Jessica Hughes who was second with a mark of 10:38.07. In the 500 free, Taheri earned the win with a 5:10.85 to finish ahead of second-placed Leeann Laing, who posted a 5:11.18.
Freshman Sarah Dicharry paced the Tulane effort in the 200 free with a 1:55.62 to finish second, and again in the 100 free with a mark of 54.69 to finish fifth. Sophomore Katherine McCoy led the Green Wave in the 50 free with a 24.86 to post a third-place finish, rookies Samantha Berdine and Laing finished fifth and sixth in the 400 IM with times of 4:35.33 and 4:37.92, respectively, and freshman Kate Naglick finished fourth in the 100 fly (1:00.71).
Redshirt-freshman Lauren Patterson finished runner up in the 100 back with a time of 1:00.12 and true freshman Sarah Zomchick led the Green Wave in the 100 breast with a ninth-place finish (1:11.05).
In diving action, freshman Danielle Carrillo finished second in the one-meter springboard with a 206.85, and was also runner up in the three-meter event with a 239.75.
Tulane returns to action on Friday, Jan. 7, when they participate in the two-day UNO Invitational. All swimming events will be held at the Lakefront Arena while diving will take part at the Reily Student Recreation Center. In addition, Tulane will also battle North Texas in a dual meet on Saturday, Jan. 8.
Players Mentioned
