Swimming & Diving To Host Vanderbilt Saturday At Reily
Nov 4, 2011 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 4, 2011
Coach Guarriello's Comments Prior To Saturday's Meet vs. Vanderbilt
NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University swimming and diving team will host its final home meet of the 2011-12 season on Saturday, Nov. 5, when the Green Wave take on Vanderbilt at the Reily Student Recreation Center Natatorium. The dual meet is slated to begin at 11 a.m. and will be preceded by a special ceremony to honor senior Hagar Elgendy.
The Green Wave enter the weekend 0-4 in dual-meet competition, but the team's times have improved each time out and several have already found their way into the Tulane record book. Tulane is 2-0 all-time against Vanderbilt, downing the Commodores 183-89 on Feb. 6, 2010 at the Reily Center and 133-129 on Feb. 5, 2011, in Nashville, Tenn. Last year's win was of the come-from-behind variety as the Wave rallied from a 127-118 deficit with one event to go and used a 1-2 finish in the 400 free relay to come away with the victory.
"We normally swim Vanderbilt as our last meet of the season," Green Wave head coach Lena Guarriello said. "We've won the last two seasons by competing as a team. By February, our team has been more familiar with dual-meet formats and we've begun resting for our conference championship. This year will be a bit different as this will be our last dual meet of the fall and both teams should be pretty tired.
"I think Vanderbilt is coming in this year with every intention of winning. We won last year's meet literally in the last minute of the meet and I think it was a bit of an upset. I think they'll put up their best line-up against us and go for the win from the very first event."
Elgendy, the lone senior in the Green Wave's third-year program, joined the Tulane team in August 2010 following a two-year stint at the University of Miami. In her first season at Tulane, Elgendy posted top times of 23.88 in the 50 free, 52.00 in the 100 free,1:54.21 in the 200 free and 2:14.24 in the 200 IM. She had a pair of top three individual finishes: coming in second in the 50 free and 100 free at Vanderbilt and in the 100 free vs. LSU; and finishing third in the 50 free vs. LSU.
In addition, Elgendy helped the relay teams post eight top three finishes, including wins in the 400 free at Vanderbilt and vs. LSU, and the 800 free at San Diego State. Away from the pool, she claimed C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and Tulane 3.0 Club recognition.
During the first three meets so far this season, Elgendy has top times of 24.07 in the 50 free and 52.85 in the 100 free, both of which came in last weekend's double-dual meet at the Don Gambril Olympic Pool in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She was named Tulane Student-Athlete of the Week on Oct. 17 after winning the 50 free (24.55) and finishing third in the 100 free (53.16) while helping the 200 medley relay (1:48.30) and 400 free relay (3:34.12) teams post victories over the weekend against North Texas.
"Hagar has become an outstanding swimmer in her time here," Guarriello said. "She's become a constant in her individual events and someone that we've come to rely on for relays. Outside of the pool she's a great role model, especially to our freshmen. I tell her constantly that I wish we had gotten her as a freshman. I'd like to have two more years coaching her."
In Tulane's last outing, the Green Wave posted 34 season-best swims, including lifetime best performances by Kayla Alf-Huynh, Amy Needham, Lauren Pfohl and Elizabeth Whitaker in a dual-dual meet against Emory and host Alabama last Saturday.
For her efforts over the weekend, Alf-Huynh was named Conference USA Swimmer of the Week after winning the 50 free (23.51), finishing second in the 100 fly (56.62) and swimming the leadoff legs of the 200 medley and 200 free relays - both of which finished third in the overall standings.
Needham was eighth in the 100 fly with a 58.90 and Whitaker's time of 1:53.49 in the 200 free was good for second place. Pfohl, meanwhile, had her season-best time come in the leadoff 50 split of the 200 free relay with a 24.22. Needham also added a runner-up showing in the 200 fly with a mark of 2:06.65.
Following the dual-meet against Vanderbilt, the Green Wave close out the fall portion of their schedule on Nov. 17-19 when they travel to Houston to participate in the Phil Hansel Cougar Classic Invitational. The event, which is hosted by the University of Houston, is a championship format tournament and will give the team a taste of way the 2012 C-USA Championship will run as the event is slated for Feb. 15-18 at the same venue.
Players Mentioned
