Press Release courtesy of Tulane Athletics
Tulane swimming and diving coach Katie Robinson announced the addition of two new swimmers to the Green Wave for the 2018-19 season on Thursday afternoon.
Joining Tulane next season will be freshmen Samy Morton (Hong Kong) and Sofia Acchione (Villanova, Pa.).
Morton, who currently lives in Hong Kong, has also swum for clubs in Michigan and California. She holds personal bests of 26.48 in the 50 free, 2:04.29 in the 200 free, 4:24.01 in the 400 free, 1:05.6 in the 100 back and 2:20.7 in the 200 back (all times in short-course meters).
“Samy is a brilliant young woman joining us from Hong Kong,” Robinson said. “Her tall build and enthusiasm for swimming give us reason to believe she will not only fit in well with our team but also thrive in our training environment. Her strength in the sprint and mid-distance freestyle events fills a need in our lineup, and she will immediately make an impact. She has continued to improve in a great way over the past few months swimming in international meets and we are excited to have her arrive this fall.”
Acchione currently swims with the Suburban Seahawks in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a city about 25 miles west of Philadelphia. She holds personal bests of 1:07.81 in the 100 breast, 59.20 in the 100 fly and 2:10.17 in the 200 fly.
“Sofia is also a bright young woman and eager to swim at the Division I level,” Robinson said. “In our interactions with her we’ve been impressed with her maturity and commitment to improving. We see Sofia being a real team player and adding strength to our breaststroke group. With our competitive training environment, we believe she will blossom into a successful swimmer at Tulane.”
Morton and Acchione will join seven other newcomers to the Green Wave program starting in 2018. In the fall, Tulane welcomed divers Gigi Beattie (Castle Rock, Colo.), Anne Marie Kenny (Centennial, Colo.), Mia Sclar (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Sierra Shurts (Portland, Ore.) along with swimmers Olivia French (Gaithersburg, Md.), Noa Heron (Largo, Fla.) and Iza Pelka (Long Grove, Ill.)