Swimming & Diving To Host Florida International On Saturday
Nov 12, 2010 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 12, 2010
Coach Guarriello's Comments Prior To The Florida International Meet
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University swimming and diving team will host its final home event of the 2010-11 season when the Green Wave take on Florida International on Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Reily Student Recreation Center. The dual-meet is slated to begin at 11 a.m. and admission is free.
Tulane enters the weekend 1-3 in dual-meet competition but are coming off one of their best performances since the program was reinstated during the Wave's head-to-head contest with LSU on Oct. 29. While the team has been working on the finer points of competition and not focusing solely on winning and losing during the early portion of the season, head swimming and diving coach Lena Guarriello said the team would be switching gears for Saturday's meet against the Panthers.
"Our No. 1 goal for this meet is to win," Guarriello said. "So far this season, we've focused on working on our race plan and doing the `little' things right in races. Tomorrow, our goal is to race. Each athlete on our team is focused on getting to the wall first. We've adjusted from `early fall' racing to preparing for our Fall Championship meet in Houston next week.
"FIU matches up with our team pretty evenly. Creating the line-up for this meet has been one of the toughest so far this season because we match up with FIU in the top two or three spots in almost every event. It should be a great meet."
The meet will be the final home competition for senior Kylie Kastes. Following a stellar prep career at Countryside High School and with the West Florida Lightning Swim Club, Kastes originally signed with the University of Arkansas and swam two seasons as a member of the Razorbacks' team. Following her sophomore campaign at Arkansas, however, Kastes decided to transfer and has been a leader on a young Green Wave team ever since.
In her first year donning the trademark T-wave on her swim cap, Kastes posted the second-fastest times in the 50 free (24.55) and 200 free (1:53.17) while finishing third in the 100 free (52.93) and 200 fly (2:07.42).
Where Kastes made her most meaningful mark, however, was as a leader as she showed the resurgent Tulane team featuring 16 true freshmen and a sophomore walk-on who did not compete the previous season how to carry themselves as collegiate student-athletes and how to work hard both in the pool and away from it. For her overall accomplishments, Kastes was named the 2010 Conference USA Newcomer of the Year.
In addition to her performance as a freestyler and in the butterfly, Kastes was named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll for her work in the classroom.
"I think this is a very special meet for Kylie. Although she didn't start with the Green Wave as a freshman, Tulane has become home to her. She's a special part of this program and knowing Kylie, she'll want to go out on top. I expect that she is going to race very well tomorrow."
Florida International, meanwhile, comes to town 2-3 in dual-meet competition with wins over Florida Atlantic and North Florida. In their last outing, the Panthers dropped a 176-112 decision to Florida Gulf Coast on Oct. 29 in Fort Myers, Fla.
"I look at our team each day in practice and I have to keep reminding myself that we've still got two more classes to recruit before we're a `whole team,'" Guarriello said. "The group that we have here now trains and races as if they are a veteran program. I'm very pleased with the progress that we've made over the last year and especially pleased with the progress that we've made this season. We're still young and have a lot to learn, but we're swimming faster and better than ever."
Following Saturday's meet against Florida International, the Tulane team will head to Houston for the Phill Hansel Cougar Classic from Nov. 19-21 to close out the fall portion of its schedule. The Green Wave will resume competition on Friday, Jan. 7, 2011, when they travel to the West Coast to take on San Diego State.
Players Mentioned
