Tulane Swimming and Diving Begins Preparation for the 2018-19 Season

NEW ORLEANS – Summer time at Tulane University is a time where most students head back home for a well deserved few months of rest and relaxation following a year of hard work in the classroom studying, preparing for tests and working toward graduation.

In short, the summer signifies fun.

For members of the Green Wave swimming and diving team, the summer months also signify a time of fun, but the hot summer months in New Orleans are anything but relaxing.

This year, the summer for the Tulane swimmers and divers is packed with weight training sessions and 12 hours in the pool per week all in effort to prepare for the upcoming season.

Add in a hefty dose of summer classes and members of the Tulane swimming and diving team have a full plate of activities. For this group of dedicated student-athletes, however they would not have it any other way.

"It's definitely hard, but a lot of us have never known anything different," sophomore Kate McDonald said.

Although some may think training for a winter sport in the month of June might be a little early, the upper classmen that have elected to stay on campus and train this summer know that training together as a team is the key to success this season.

"I'm pretty excited to be here this summer because we are basically training with all our best friends," Shelly Zelnick said. "Being around the team makes the atmosphere lighter and more playful and I find it a lot easier to work hard when I am having fun."

Zelnick, who will enter her senior season this fall, said this is the largest group of athletes that has trained during the summer in her time at Tulane. Zelnick is encouraged by the amount of commitment her teammates have shown and believes the program is headed right direction.

The team knows that going through the program's summer workout program is much easier when working together.

"It is really obvious that my training back home was just not up to par with my training here and it is because of my teammates," McDonald said. "Having teammates that really push you to be the best makes training more enjoyable, but you get better results, so I am excited to train all summer with teammates that push me and I look forward to seeing how it pays off."

Tulane began its summer workouts during the final week of May following a two-week break from school.

"The experience has already been so much easier and way more enjoyable because it is so much harder to train by yourself," senior Paris Zhang said. "If you have people to race with and talk with and enjoy the summer with it is so much better."

For members of the swimming and diving team, bringing home the program's first-ever American Conference title serves as one the team's biggest goals.

With most of the team staying on campus for a majority of the summer the months, the Green Wave is already taking the first steps in bringing home the team's first league title in over 10 years.

"The best way to build momentum into the fall semester is to come off a really great summer season," head coach Katie Robinson said. "Even though we are not engaging in NCAA dual meets, having a large majority of the team stay and train together as part of Tulane Aquatics (club swimming) is a big step for our program. The dedication level of the student-athletes we've recruited and are now on our team is rising and we are excited for this positive change and the benefits we will see this coming 2018-2019 college season. Plus having almost everyone here training is fun!"

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Tulane Swimming and Diving Begins Preparation for the 2018-19 Season

Players Mentioned

Kate McDonald

Shelly Zelnick

Paris Zhang

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