Sadie Eicher Named C-USA Freshman Diver Of The Year
May 6, 2011 | Women's Swimming and Diving
May 6, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - When freshman Sadie Eicher arrived at Tulane for the start of the 2010-11 school year, participating on the Green Wave's swimming and diving team was almost an unheard of proposition for the native of San Jose, Calif.
Nine months later, however, Eicher not only found herself as the lone diver on the Tulane roster but also wound up being named Conference USA Freshman Diver of the Year based on a vote of league coaches. Eicher was the Green Wave's top freshman score at the C-USA Championship meet and becomes the first student-athlete in school history to earn the title as the league's rookie diver of the year.
"This is a tremendous honor for us and for our program," Tulane head swimming and diving coach Lena Guarriello said. "This is the second year for us to be back in the pool and competing again and this is also the second year that one of our student-athletes has earned an individual award from Conference USA. I believe this is a sign that we are heading in the right direction as a team.
"Sadie has an outstanding work ethic and just continues to improve each and every day. She led the way for freshman class at conference and she's performed as well in the classroom as she has in the diving well. We are all very proud of what Sadie has accomplished and we look forward to seeing what she can do over the next three seasons."
Originally enrolling at Tulane as a non-student-athlete, Eicher sent Guarriello a brief e-mail expressing an initial interest in possibly joining the team shortly upon her arrival in New Orleans. After viewing some footage of Eicher's dives on YouTube.com, Guarriello bolted to first-year Tulane diving coach Justin Montrie's office and a full-court press of her on-campus recruitment was on.
Montrie met Eicher outside one of her classrooms early in the fall semester, and after a short meet and greet, she almost had no choice but to join the team. As Eicher entered her first team meeting with Montrie on the team's goals for the year, the rookie was handed a stack of gear and work-out plans - even before she officially agreed to come out for the team.
"We set out knowing that if Sadie worked hard, she could contribute to the team right away," Montrie said. "She's a tremendous asset to this program and she has been a pleasure to work with. This is a very well-deserved award for her.
"At the same time, this is just the tip of the iceberg for her. She's got three more years of eligibility and if she continues to make the tremendous strides she shown us as a freshman, Sadie has a chance to be among national contenders for years to come."
Eicher participated in every team meet for the Green Wave during the 2010-11 season, posting career-high scores of 208.2 in the three-meter springboard against UNO on Oct. 15 and tallying a season-best 217.6 in the one-meter springboard during a double-dual meet against Arkansas and North Texas on Oct. 9.
During the 2011 C-USA Women's Swimming & Diving Championship, Eicher became the first Tulane diver to score in the Top 8 since Danielle Carillo in 2005. At this year's championship, Eicher finished seventh in the one-meter with a 217.0 and tallied a 173.0 in the three-meter.
"Sadie is the foundation for which we are going to build our diving program," Guarriello said. "I think she's a better diver now than she was in February. With a solid summer of training, she will lead a young group of divers into next season and hopefully go top eight on both boards."
Players Mentioned
