Swimming & Diving to Celebrate Seniors Against LSU in Home Opener

Dual Meet: Tulane vs. LSU
When:	Saturday, Dec. 3 - 11:00 AM
Where:	New Orleans, Louisiana \| Riley Center Natatorium
Follow:	Live results and updates from @GreenWaveSwim
Social Media:	Twitter: @GreenWaveSwim Facebook: /GreenWaveSwimming

NEW ORLEANS -- Tulane swimming & diving returns to Uptown this weekend as the Green Wave hosts LSU for the first home meet of the 2016 season on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 11:00 a.m. at the Reily Center Natatorium. The Green Wave will also celebrate Senior Day and honor its graduating student-athletes, Joy Jason and Ellie Sills.

During their time at Tulane, Jason and Sills have helped the program notch numerous school records, as well as earn a second-place finish at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championships. Jason, who hails from Port Allen, La., ranks second in school history in the 100 breast and third in the 200 breast, while Sills, who resides in Suwanee, Ga., boasts the eight top overall times in the 200 fly in school history.

"Ellie and Joy are two of the hardest workers on our team, and their leadership has helped create a really good culture for our program," head coach Katie Robinson said. "I'm incredibly proud of how resilient they've been across the past four seasons and their 'there's nothing stopping us from reaching our goals' mentality. I love that attitude they bring to the team, and I can't wait to celebrate them with the recognition they deserve."

This season, the two seniors have paced a young Green Wave team that is coming off a strong performance at the Phill Hansel Invitational in Houston on Nov. 18-20. In Houston, Tulane swimmers secured a sixth place finish with 690.5 points against a field of 11 teams and set a multitude of records, including freshman Olivia Johnson's school record in the 400 IM.

Saturday's dual meet against LSU will mark the 23rd all-time meeting between the two programs, in a series that dates back to the 1978-79 season. Last season, Tulane traveled to Baton Rouge to compete against LSU, where it fell 210-86. The Green Wave tallied six top-three finishes, including Sills' first-place finish in the 100 fly (56.39), and third-place finish in the 200 fly (2:04.19). Sophomores Shelly Zelnick and Lena Hayakawa also earned top-three finishes for the Green Wave, claiming third-place in the 200 back and 200 breast, respectively.

"We have a long history of swimming against LSU, and it brings out the best in us every season," Robinson said. "LSU is a very strong program, but it's important for us to not have any hesitation from swimming against very tough teams. We had some great swims at the Phill Hansel Invitational, and I expect our women to build upon the performance by racing very well and showing their internal strength and mental toughness."

Updates and live results from this weekend's meet will be available on Twitter at @GreenWaveSwim.

Swimming & Diving to Celebrate Seniors Against LSU in Home Opener

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Players Mentioned

Lena Hayakawa

Joy Jason

Olivia Johnson

Ellie Sills

Shelly Zelnick

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