Swimmers Grab Two More Medals on AAC Championship Final Night

Saturday, February 17

Dallas, Texas

ALL DAY

Tulane University

Day 4

Photo by: American Athletic Conference

Swimmers Grab Two More Medals on AAC Championship Final Night

Feb 17, 2018 | Women's Swimming and Diving

Final Results | Final Team Scores

DALLAS – Tulane closed out its time at the American Athletic Conference Championships with two more bronze medals and multiple new entries in the school record book at SMU on Saturday night.

As a whole, the team finished in fifth place with 401 points. Tulane grabbed six medals during the championship meet, its highest medal count since 2016.

"This team kept fighting its way back all day," Coach Katie Robinson said. "It's been a year of ups and downs and what has stayed constant and true is the way our team members support each other. We cashed it all in tonight with our final relay. I'm proud of the seniors and the spirit they brought to our team."

FINALS
Olivia Johnson got on a podium first on the evening, kicking off the night session with a bronze in the 1650 free. Her time of 16:32.87 was the new second-best time in school history, and her 1000 meter split of 9:59.51 is also the new second-best time in school history in that distance. Johnson was in fourth place for the first 1250 yards, but she eventually surpassed Connecticut's Emma Smith on yard 1300 to take third place for good and earn a spot on the podium by four seconds.

Ellie Vincent also swam in the 1650, taking 16th in 17:46.12.

Shelly Zelnick followed Johnson with a bronze medal in the 200 back, tying her own school record from last year's AAC Championship with a time of 1:57.42. That time was an NCAA B standard time.

Coming in right behind Zelnick in fourth was Jordan Morling with a time of 1:59.08. That mark is .01 seconds faster than Morling's second-best time in team history, breaking her own personal best and also clearing the NCAA B standard.

In the consolation final, Gabby Vieira claimed victory with a time of 1:59.86 to finish in ninth place. That time moves her up from seventh to fourth all-time in team history. Claire Golba finished 15th in 2:07.22.

In the final race of the night, Paris Zhang, Zelnick, Courtney Barker and Kaitlin Simpson took part in the 400 free relay. The Green Wave had the fourth-fastest time in team history with a 3:23.08 and finished in fourth place in the relay.

The 200 breast saw Kate McDonald come in seventh place with a time of 2:15.47, setting the new third-best overall time in Tulane history and surpassing the NCAA B standard time. Lena Hayakawa won the consolation final and came in ninth overall in 2:17.14, now the eighth-fastest overall time ever at Tulane. Ellie Vincent was 16th overall in 2:26.42.

Morgan Tacik swam in the event final of the 200 fly, and she would place eighth in 2:04.75. Morling was in the consolation finals, taking 15th in 2:05.19.

PRELIMS
Zelnick had the best prelim finish of any Green Wave swimmer in the morning session, taking third in the 200 back prelims with an NCAA B standard time of 1:58.51. That swim was the new second-best overall time ever at Tulane for the woman who tied her own the school record in the event later in the evening. Morling also had a fantastic swim in the prelims, taking fourth in 1:59.43 to earn a spot in the A final and post an NCAA B standard as well. Her time was the sixth-best overall in Tulane history.

Vieira earned herself a place in the consolation final with a ninth-place swim in 2:01.52, the new seventh-best individual time at Tulane and a personal best. Golba also snuck into the consolation final with a time of 2:04.23 for 16th place in the prelims.

McDonald secured her spot in the evening finals of the 200 breast with a swim of 2:16.38 for sixth place. That swim is now the third-best overall time in team history. Hayakawa got herself in the consolation final with an 11th-best showing in a time of 2:18.23, the new 12th-best overall time in team history. And Ellie Vincent plugged herself into the B final as well with a swim of 2:23.44 for 16th place.

Tacik punched her ticket to the evening's A final in the 200 fly, taking sixth in the prelims with a time of 2:01.96. That time is the new 14th-best overall time in team history. Morling got her second evening final in the 200 fly as well, placing herself in the consolation final with an 11th-place swim in 2:03.81.

Also in the prelims, Alex Brindisi came in 17th in 2:07.33, Emily Ramier was 18th in 2:08.49 and Alex Lakota was 19th in 2:13.40.

In the 100 free prelims, Paris Zhang took 19th with a time of 51.51 seconds and Courtney Barker was 20th in 51.52 seconds. Kaitlin Simpson came in 25th in 51.71 while Lilly Morgan took 29th in 52.64 and Jeni Griffin was 33rd with a time of 53.35.

DIVING
Junior Anise Muir and freshman Katie Nicol completed their seasons on the diving board with the platform dive on Saturday afternoon. Competing in just their second platform dive of the year, Nicol took 13th place with a score of 147.35 and Muir was 17th with a score of 123.25. Nicol's score is the new 10th-best platform in school history while Muir's is 12th-best at Tulane.

Next up, Tulane's swimmers with NCAA B standard times will await their postseason fate, as they all have a chance to be selected for the NCAA Championships in March.