Tulane Swimming and Diving Finishes Fifth at the Phill Hansel Invitational

Sunday, November 18

Houston, Texas

TBA

Tulane University

Phill Hansel Invitational

Photo by: Parker Waters

Tulane Swimming and Diving Finishes Fifth at the Phill Hansel Invitational

Nov 18, 2018 | Women's Swimming and Diving

HOUSTON – The Tulane University swimming and diving team concluded competition Sunday at the 2018 Phill Hansel Invitational and finished fifth with 841.5 points.

The Green Wave's fifth-place performance slotted Tulane ahead of Colorado State, Washington State, Vanderbilt, Air Force, Northern Colorado, Incarnate Word and North Texas. Tulane's trip the Phill Hansel Invitational also was its final meet of the 2018 portion of the year.

"I thought our team did very well this weekend and they really raced tough," head coach Leah Stancil said. "I'm really proud of my team. They showed a lot of energy and really supported one another throughout the day."

Junior Olivia Johnson raced to a fourth-place finish in the 1650-yard freestyle posting a time of 16:39.86.

Senior Shelly Zelnick also posted a top-five finish, as she placed fifth in a time of 1:58.53.

Sophomore Kate McDonald was impressive in the 200-yard breaststroke, as she broke her own school record in the preliminaries, posting a time of 2:13.27. She would later go on to finish sixth in the finals.

Tulane closed out the day on a high note with a strong performance in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Green Wave's relay team consisted of Zelnick, sophomore Courtney Barker, freshman Samy Morton and senior Paris Zhang, which took third in a time of 3:23.87.

"This weekend really helped us prepare for the conference championships and that's what we have been preparing for all year," Stancil said.

The Tulane divers also turned in strong performances as freshman Sierra Shurts and senior Anise Muir both placed in the top 20. Shurts took seventh in the one-meter event, finishing with a score of 247.5, while Muir fought back from 16th place to win the one meter consolation event with a score of 251.45.

Tulane will return to action on Jan. 26 when it welcomes Loyola to the Reily Student Recreation Center Natatorium. The meet is set to begin at 3 p.m.

Be sure to follow the program on Facebook and Twitter (@GreenWaveSwim) and on Instagram (@TulaneSwimDive). Fans can also follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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