Lilly Byrne Brings Home First Freestyle Event Victory for Tulane in AAC Championships

Wednesday, February 16

Dallas, TX

TBA

Tulane University

American Athletic Conference

Lilly Byrne Brings Home First Freestyle Event Victory for Tulane in AAC Championships

Feb 17, 2022 | Women's Swimming and Diving

By: Victoria Ahlbrecht

DALLAS - Junior Lilly Byrne brought home the first freestyle event victory for Tulane in American meet history, capturing the gold medal in the women's 500 freestyle with a time of 4:47.03 Thursday night at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center and Barr-McMillion Natatorium in Dallas.

Another day, another gold for Lilly🥇#RollWave🌊 pic.twitter.com/sJurt4s460
— Tulane Swim & Dive (@GreenWaveSwim) February 18, 2022

Byrne went into the finals the top seed and was joined by teammates Noa Heron and Iza Pelka in the finals. Heron would finish just off the podium in fourth with a time of 4:49.97 and Pelka would finish sixth at 4:50.63.

Tulane also had swimmers in the 200-yard IM finals in Gianna Spremullo and Kate Amar. Spremullo would finish fifth touching the wall at 2:02.15 and Amar would come in seventh at 2:04.13.

Heading into the third day, Tulane as a team currently sits in third with 211 team points. SMU leads with 364 and Houston is in second with 353.5.

In 1-meter diving Paige McKenzie would place 12^th (237.80), Katie Lipsey would take 13th (229.40) and Anna Behrman would come in 14^th (227.95).

Houston leads in team points in diving with 223, SMU is in second with 165 and Tulane currently sits in third with 102.

"We kept the momentum going from yesterday's performances," head coach Leah Stancil said. "We had a conference champion, NCAA B-cut, 5 A-finalists, 5 B-finalists, 5 seasons best times, and 10 all-time best times today. This team's pride and competitiveness continue to impress me. We still have 4 more sessions so it is imperative that we continue to stay focused and keep the energy up. Day 3, here we come!"

The Green Wave returns to the pool tomorrow for the third day of action at the ACC Championships.

Friday, February 18 (ESPN+)
Swimming Prelims: 10 A.M. (CT) (ESPN+) | Diving Prelims: 12:30 P.M. (CT) | Finals: 6:00 P.M. (CT) (ESPN+)

Event #16 3-Meter Diving PRELIM Men
Event #16 3-Meter Diving CONSOLS Men
Event #17 400 Yard IM Women
Event #18 400 Yard IM Men
Event #19 100 Yard Butterfly Women
Event #20 100 Yard Butterfly Men
Event #21 200 Yard Freestyle Women
Event #22 200 Yard Freestyle Men
Event #23 100 Yard Breaststroke Women
Event #24 100 Yard Breaststroke Men
Event #25 100 Yard Backstroke Women
Event #26 100 Yard Backstroke Men
Event #16 3-Meter Diving FINALS Men
Event #27 400 Yard Medley Relay Women
Event #28 400 Yard Medley Relay Men

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.

WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, all-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.