Swimming & Diving To Face Alabama, Emory In Tuscaloosa
Oct 28, 2011 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 28, 2011
Coach Guarriello's Quotes Entering The Double-Dual Meet In Tuscaloosa
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University women's swimming and diving team returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 29, when the Green Wave travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a double-dual meet against Emory College and host Alabama. The meet at the Alabama Aquatics Center Don Gambril Olympic Pool is slated to begin at noon (CDT).
Tulane enters the weekend 0-2 on the year but in high spirits as the Wave's times over the first two meets are noticeable higher than they were at the same point during the previous two seasons. While Alabama and Emory will prove to be quality opponents as the Crimson Tide finished ninth at the SEC Championship a year ago and the Eagles have now won back-to-back NCAA Division III titles, Green Wave head coach Lena Guarriello said that a pair of wins in Tuscaloosa would prove to her team that the work it has been putting in has all been worth it.
"It would show how far we've come in the last two years," Guarriello said. "I was reminded this week of how young we still are despite being in our third year of competition. Our juniors basically raised themselves as Division I student-athletes. There aren't many other programs that can say they'd be the same team with almost no upperclassmen leadership for two years. I'm constantly reminded that we've built this from the ground up and I'm very proud of the team that we've become."
In their last action, the Green Wave posted wins in the 200 medley and 400 free relays, and three individuals won their respective events, but it was not enough in a 175-123 loss to North Texas on Oct. 15 at the Reily Student Recreation Center Natatorium.
Junior Emily Needham posted a mark of 2:05.87 to win the 200 fly while senior Hagar Elgendy won the 50 free (24.55) and sophomore Rachel Ranson won the 100 free (53.02). The quartet of Kayla Alf-Huynh, Shelby Kisser, Grace Tarka and Elgendy, meanwhile, won the 200 medley relay at 1:48.30 while Allie Evans, Elgendy, Ranson, Alf-Huynh joined forces to win the 400 free relay at 3:34.12.
In addition, Tulane also finished second in seven events including a runner-up showing by sophomore Sadie Eicher in the three-meter springboard (221.32). Gisele Calderon (2:06.66) and Ranson (24.65) finished second to Needham and Elgendy in the 200 fly and 50 free, respectively. Junior Elizabeth Whitaker was second in the 200 free (1:55.93) as was junior Lauren Pfohl in the 200 back (2:10.26), Needham in the 100 fly (58.51) and Alf-Huynh in the 200 IM (2:11.57).
Freshman Laura Turpen led the Green Wave effort in the 1000 free with a 10:45.27 to finish third and fellow rookie Vanessa Loewen was third as well in the 100 back with a time of 59.20. Kiser posted a pair of third-place showings, leading Tulane with a 1:09.47 in the 100 breast and a 2:32.49 in the 200 breast. Evans was third in the 500 free with a team-best 5:10.85, and Eicher followed suit in the one-meter springboard with a score of 179.25.
"I'm very satisfied with the performances of the team so far," Guarriello said. "I think that we're better than we've been on paper. Faster times for us will come as the girls continue to learn how to better utilize their strengths in competition. They're a hard-working team and I think we're going to continue to see improvements over the next two weekends of racing."
Alabama is now 0-2 on the year after falling to South Carolina 151-148 and to Florida State 185-110 on Oct. 15 in Tallahassee, Fla. Emory, meanwhile, heads to the Heart of Dixie 0-1 after falling 182-118 at UNC-Wilmington on Oct. 22.
Following the trip to Alabama, the Green Wave return to the Reily Student Recreation Center Natatorium for a showdown with Vanderbilt on Saturday, Nov. 5. The head-to-head matchup against the Commodores is the final home contest of the 2011-12 season for the Tulane team, which will hold a special pre-meet ceremony honoring Elgendy as its lone senior.
Players Mentioned
