TULANE VS. SMU
- Results
- Hosted by Tulane
- Friday, October 6th
- 25 Yards
- Dual Meet Format
FINAL TEAM SCORES
- TULANE: 172
- SMU: 127
The Tulane and SMU women faced off in dual meet action on Friday, with the Green Wave beating the Mustangs for the first time ever. They finished with 172 points to SMU’s 127 points.
500 free school record holder Morgan Tacik picked up a win in her signature event. Tacik was the only woman to break 5:00, touching in 4:58 to win the race by nearly 7 seconds over SMU’s El Yellin (5:05.50). She also picked up a 2nd place finish in the 200 fly shortly before that. Tacik battled closely with SMU’s Erin Trahan in that race, but came up short as Trahan moved ahead down the stretch to win in 2:05.73 to Tacik’s 2:06.11.
Junior Paris Zhang played a role in 3 wins throughout the meet. She was a part of 2 winning relays, posting a 26.38 back split on the 200 medley relay and a 23.97 free split on the 2nd leg of the 200 free relay. Individually, Zhang dominated the 100 back, charging to a 55.26 ahead of SMU’s Felicity Passon (57.08). She also picked up a 2nd place in the 100 free, posting a 52.27 to finish narrowly behind Passon (51.96).
SMU’s Matea Samardzic pulled off a triple for the Mustangs. She first won the 200 free, touching in 1:51.40 ahead of Tulane’s Michelle Zelnick (1:52.94). They went head-to-head again in the 200 back, where Samardzic (1:59.61) was the only woman to break 2:00 and Zelnick followed in 2:03.41. Finally, Samardzic collected her final win in the 400 IM, using her backstroke speed to take the edge over Tulane’s Olivia Johnson. She held off a late charge, touching in 4:17.54 to Johnston’s 4:18.66.
PRESS RELEASE – TULANE:
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane women’s swimming and diving team posted a gigantic dual-meet victory over conference rival SMU on Friday afternoon, knocking off the Mustangs 172-127 at the Reily Natatorium.
The Wave rolled early in the meet – winning four of the first five swimming events – and continued to put the pressure on the Mustangs throughout the meet. Tulane eventually finished with eight event victories.
The win was Tulane’s first ever against SMU in a dual meet. In the teams’ four previous meetings dating back to 1983, SMU was undefeated at 4-0. The Mustangs have won their conference championship 17 of the last 21 years.
“This team is on a roll and they’re doing a really good job,” said coach Katie Robinson. “We’re just supporting each other through every swim and we’re doing a good job of being a team. I’m overjoyed and sometimes shocked at some of the times we’re putting up.”
Tulane began the swimming events on a high note as Paris Zhang, Lena Hayakawa, Gabby Vieira and Courtney Barker combined for a victory in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:45.22. They were immediately followed by another event victory from Olivia Johnson in the 1000 free with a time of 10:10.54.
Also in the 1000 free, freshman Ellie Vincent set a new personal best with a time of 10:36.38.
Later, Paris Zhang won the 100 back in 55.26, Lena Hayakawa claimed the 100 breast title in 1:04.80 and Courtney Barker won the 50 free in 24.25. Kate McDonald was your champion in the 200 breast with a time of 2:18.82, and school-record-holder Morgan Tacik won the 500 free with a time of 4:58.56.
Tulane also closed the meet in style, putting on a show with a 200 free relay victory thanks to the swimming of Shelly Zelnick, Zhang, Barker and senior Kaitlin Simpson. The quartet touched the wall in 1:35.75 to put an exclamation point on the victory.
“[Simpson] held her composure in that race really well,” Robison said. “A senior racing at the end of a relay…they’re going to race with a lot of heart and guts. That’s what she did, and we’re really excited for them.”
Tulane returns to the pool on October 21 when it travels to Pensacola, Fla., to take on West Florida.
PRESS RELEASE – SMU:
NEW ORLEANS (SMU) – The SMU women’s swimming and diving fell at Tulane, 172-127, Friday evening at the Reily Center Natatorium.
Matea Samardzic, Erin Trahan and Felicity Passon all paced the Mustangs and continued their early season success with victories. Samardzic led the Mustangs with a team-high three victories. The senior opened the day with a win in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:51.40, before winning the 200-yard backstroke (1:59.64). Samardzic capped the day with a victory in the 400-yard IM (4:17.54). Sophomore Trahan claimed her first win of the day in the 200-yard butterfly (2:05.75), before adding the 100-yard butterfly (56.34) to the SMU win column. Following a runner-up finish in the 100-yard backstroke (57.08) to start the day, Passon tallied a victory in the 100-yard freestyle (51.96).
Divers Katie Crown and Taylor Ohlhauser finished first and second on both the 1 and 3 meters, respectively. Crown used a 234.22 on the 3 meter to open the day, before posting a 235.05 on the 1 meter. Ohlhauser opened the day with a 217.27 on the 3 meter, before earning a 223.27 on the 1 meter. Kara Bradley finished fourth in both the 1- (192.97) and 3- (197.77) meter platforms.
Up next, SMU hosts the SMU Classic. The event will take place at the Westside Aquatic Center in Lewisville, Texas, from Oct. 13-14. The meet is free to attend.