Tulane University
America Athletic Conference Championships
Tulane Swims to Second-Place Finish at American Conference Championships
Feb 20, 2016 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Swim & Dive at American Conference Championships 
Houston -- Tulane women's swimming and diving had a performance for the ages at the 2015-16 American Conference Championships in Houston. In the four-day event, the Green Wave finished second overall with a score of 637.50, the highest team placing since 2005 and the team's best finish in the American. On the weekend, Tulane broke school records on eighteen occasions, earned nine individual medals and set over sixty personal bests.
"This was a great finish for the Tulane Green Wave, and it was definitely history in the making," head coach Katie Robinson said. "To be second and within 43.5 points of first place SMU, it's really a huge step for our program and I am so proud of these ladies. They had worked so hard all year long and I couldn't be more grateful and feeling so blessed as a coach. I am beyond ecstatic for how the seniors led this team and left their legacy. We are extremely happy with our second-place finish and we really look forward to the years to come in the American Athletic Conference."
On day four of the meet, the Green Wave qualified all but one competitor to finals. Prelims also brought the day's first record-breaking performance. In the 200 fly, junior Ellie Sills notched a No. 4 seed in the finals swim with her time of 1:59.70.
Freshman Natalie Clausen made an explosive start to the afternoon with her gold medal-clinching performance in the 1650 free. Clausen took first place with her time of 16:30.28, breaking a Tulane record by a full ten seconds.
The Green Wave made another strong showing in the platform dive, with seniors Lauren Arnold and Maren Kjell taking third and fifth places, respectively. With their scores of 210.55 and 184.05, the pair also came close to setting personal bests.
Competition continued in the 200 back, where freshman Shelly Zelnick broke her second school record of the weekend. With her time of 1:50.07, Zelnick notched a fourth-place finish in the event. In the 100 free, senior Mia Schachter would claim her second medal of the meet with a third-place finish on a time of 50.09.
Tulane closed out individual competition in the 200 fly. Finishing in fifth place, Sills beat the record she had broken that morning with her time of 1:59.51.
The Green Wave ended their 2015-16 campaign on a high note with a final record-breaking performance in the 400 free relay. In the event, Paris Zhang, Kaitlin Simpson, Emma Lincoln and Schachter nabbed a third-place finish in just 3:20.05, over three seconds faster than the previous time.
Top-5 Finishes at the 2016 American Conference Championships
4. 800 Free Relay - Grender, Clausen, Zelnick, Lincoln (7:19.61)
2. 200 Medley Relay - Palmer, Schachter, Simpson, Zhang (1:40.19)
3. 200 Free Relay - Zhang, Simpson, Lincoln, Schachter (1:32.28)
3. 400 Medley Relay - Cook, Schachter, Simpson, Lincoln (3:40.10)^
3. 400 Free Relay - Zhang, Simpson, Lincoln, Schachter (3:20.05)^
500 Free
- Natalie Clausen - 4:50.00^*
200 IM
- Shelly Zelnick - 2:02.87
- Ellie Sills - 2:03.10
50 Free
- Mia Schachter - 22.81^*
400 IM
- Roni Meyer - 4:19.10^*
100 Fly
- Kaitlin Simpson - 54.10^*
200 Free
- Emma Lincoln - 1:48.03^*
100 Breast
- Mia Schachter - 1:01.52
100 Back
- Liz Cook - 55.30
1650 Free
- Natalie Clausen - 16:30.28^*
Platform Diving
- Lauren Arnold - 210.55
- Maren Kjell - 184.05
200 Back
- Shelly Zelnick - 1:59.07^*
100 Free
- Mia Schachter - 50.09
200 Fly
- Ellie Sills - 1:59.51^*
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*Personal best
^School record
Players Mentioned
