The SMU women defeated Tulane over the weekend, winning 10 events in the victory to reach a 153-146 decision. Breaststroke standout Tara-Lynn Nicholas won 2 events, the 100 breast (1:02.66) and 200 breast (2:17.68).
SMU:
COMPLETE RESULTS
NEW ORLEANS (SMU) – Tara-Lynn Nicholas and Marne Erasmus each swept their respective specialties in a 153-146 victory over American Athletic Conference opponent Tulane that came down to the final relay event for the win.
“Today’s meet was very exciting,” head coach Steve Collins said. “Our team pulled together from the start and it payed off with a great win. Winning a meet that comes down to the last relay is a great experience for our team. These experiences are special and will help make us a better team in the future. We are now looking forward to preparing for the A&M invite.”
With a two-point lead heading into the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Mustangs posted a first-place finish to secure the win. Adri Santa, Erasmus, Maddie Hoch and Vicky Cunningham turned in a commanding victory clocking a 3:27.79, which was over four seconds faster than the ‘A’ relay from Tulane.
SMU also scored maximum points in the first relay of the day, opening with a 1:43.69 from Tiffany Sudarma, Nicholas, Erasmus and Hannah Rogers in the 200-yard medley relay.
Nicholas continued her success in the breaststroke with winning times of 1:02.66 (100) and 2:17.68 (200). The 200 victory was over seven seconds faster than Tulane’s Lena Hayakawa. The fly victories for Erasmus were also convincing, as she won the 200 by over two seconds, and was one of only two swimmers to post a split under 27 seconds in the 100.
In freestyle action, the Mustangs picked up victories in the 50, 100 and 200 distances, with Rogers (23.72) posting her third win in the distance this season. Fellow transfer Cunningham was only .05 seconds behind for second.
Cunningham went on to win the 100 free, with Hoch backing her up to bring the event point total to 13 for the Ponies, and it was Hoch who was the 200 champion coming in ahead of Santa and Ursa Bezan to give SMU a 1-2-3 finish in the distance.
The final event win for the day came from Bezan, who clocked a 2:04.79 in the 200-yard backstroke to lead the group.
Madeline Wainman was the Mustangs’ top-scorer in diving finishing third in the 3-meter and fourth in the one-meter, while Lauren Lamb earned her highest finish in the 3m at fourth and was fifth in the 1m.
SMU is back in action Nov. 19-21 when they travel to the Texas A&M Invite in College Station, Texas. Check SMUMustangs.com for live results links and ways to follow.
Tulane:
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane swimming & diving team took to the lanes on Sunday morning in the Reily Center Natatorium for a heated face off against fellow American Athletic Conference foe SMU. The Green Wave swam competitively, forcing a decision in the final event of the day, but dropped the dual meet by a close margin of 153-146.
“Today was a great meet,” head coach Katie Robinson said. “It was fun to really be neck and neck with the defending champions from our conference. We knew coming in they were going to be tough, and we rose to the occasion today. I was really happy and proud of our girls and how they raced tough, and to come within seven points is great progress for our team.”
Tulane started off the day close on the heels of the visiting Mustangs, taking second and third in the 200 yard medley relay. SMU continued to dominate in the 200 free, but Tulane was able to even the score and sweep the top three spots in the 100 backstroke with sharp performances from freshman Shelly Zelnick (57.03), sophomore Tirol Palmer(58.58) and senior Elizabeth Cook (58.62).
Freshman Natalie Clausen continued her dominance in just her second collegiate appearance, taking first place in both the 1000 and 500 yard freestyle. Clausen finished well ahead of her competition in both races, clocking 10:19.80 in the 1000, finishing eleven seconds ahead of her teammate, senior Roni Meyer. In the 500, she set a personal best and beat out SMU’s Vicky Cunningham by five seconds with a time of 4:59.85.
Zelnick also continued to shine for Tulane as she added a pair of first-place finishes in the 100 back (57.03) and the 200 IM (2:06.55). Later in the meet she helped her team to a second-place finish in the 400 free relay (3:32.00).
Junior Ellie Sills came in second in the 100 fly (57.19) and posted a third-place effort in the 200 fly (2:06.01), while senior Holly Grendernotched two second-place finishes in the 200 back (2:04.95) and the 200 IM (2:08.78).
The Green Wave were dominant from the diving board, with freshmanCaroline McCleary finishing first in both the 3-meter and 1-meter dives with scores of 268.13 and 263.92, respectively. Senior Lauren Arnold notched two second-place finishes (250.50, 246.91), while senior Maren Kjell finished in the No. 3 spot in the 1-meter (244.35).
The Green Wave will take next weekend off, but will be back in action on Nov. 19 for two, three-day events as swimming travels to Texas for the Houston Invitational. Diving will attend the Diving Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia.
Swimming news courtesy of SMU and Tulane Swimming & Diving.