Tulane Aquatics Wins Mardi Gras Invitational
The Tulane swimming & diving team was crowned the champion of the Mardi Gras Invite on Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Reily Center Natatorium with 166 team points. On the final day the program earned a 59-28 win over New Mexico and 44-33 victory over Little Rock and also totaled four top 10 marks in the one-meter diving plus two of the top three marks in the team diving competition to walk away with the team victory. On the weekend, Tulane had 20 event victories .
Good Start to the Day
The Green Wave started the day with a 59-28 head-to-head victory over New Mexico in the team’s opening dual meet. The program won seven of the eight events.
The 400 A medley relay team of Eliza Lennox, Lise Coetzee, Olcaytu Hatipoglu, and Rafaela Sumida swam a 3:29.59 to earn the event victory. The Tulane B team of Marin Shimkus, Danielle Barberie, Gwen Shahboz, and Charley Floyd took third with a time of 3:43.56.
Ebba Holgersson won the 200 IM (2:09.76). Varvara Gkiouzepa Petropoulou was the runner-up (2:09.90), while Mary Kate Kupsky finished third (2:11.69).
Phoebe Johnson finished second in the 100 fly with her time of 581.31. Her teammates Layla Allen (1:01.45) and Sydney Mullin (1:01.52) placed third and fourth, respectfully.
Andrea Zeebe earned the 100 back victory in a time of 56.28. Nicole Fant took second (59.17) with Samantha Schoenborn picking up third (59.48).
Eliza Lennox won the 100 free with a 51.26. Olcaytu Hatipoglu was the runner-up (53.12), while Floyd took fourth to earn a point (56.94).
Holgersson earned her second victory of the day in the 100 breast in a time of 1:06.07. Barberie placed second (1:06.59) with Shimkus taking fourth (1:10.02).
Results were Good for Greenies
The Green Wave took the top four places in the 500 free with Coetzee leading the charge in earning the victory (5:04.50). Mullin earned second (5:11.61). Schoenborn was third (5:11.84), while Ece Tanriverdi picked up fourth (5:23.16).
The 400 A medley relay team of Fant, Paula Gaya Bisquerra, Petropoulou and Zeebe won the event with a 3:57.79. The B team of Kupsky, Gwen Shahboz, Allen, and Johnson placed third (4:02.34).
Libby Brewer finished as the runner-up in the one-meter diving with 278.20 points. Her score ranks fourth all-time at Tulane in the event and was also a college-best. She was one of four that finished in the top 10 at the event for the Green Wave as Tannah Proudfoot (6th – 159.30 pts), Taylor Cekay (7th – 156.10 pts.), and Kelsey Weddington (10th – 88.10 pts.).
Brewer, Cekay, and Weddington then teamed up to win the diving team event with a program record of 268.0 points. The B team of Eva Shawver, Maya Superfon, and Proudfoot placed third in the event with 221.70 points.
In the final dual meet of the day, Tulane defeated Little Rock by a 44-33 score with five event wins in seven opportunities.
The Tulane A team of Sumida, Coetzee, Zeebe, and Johnson placed second with a 7:21.14. The time was CSCAA A cut. The team’s B team of Mullin, Shahboz, Schoenborn, and Allen took third overall (7:42.45).
Lennox won the 50 fly with a time of 24.20. Her team was a personal best and a CSCAA A standard. She also earned the 50 free victory with her time of 22.74.
Hatipoglu picked up third in the 50 fly (26.07).
Shimkus swam a season-best time of 25.57 to place second in the 50 back. Nicole Fant placed third with a 26.64.
Bisquerra was the 50 breast victor (29.34). Barberie took third in a personal best 30.02.
Zeebe finished fourth with a personal best in the 50 free (23.77).
Shahboz won the 400 IM with a 4:18.82. The time was a CSCAA B cut and a season-best. Barberie placed third (4:24.48), while Petropoulou earned fourth (4:26.32).
Coetzee earned the 1000 free title with a 10:01.81. The time was a CSCAA A cut and a season best. Ece Tanriverdi picked up third in the event with a season best 10:28.34.
Next the swim team has a final competition against West Florida on Saturday, Jan. 24, starting at 10 a.m.
Portions Courtesy Tulane Athletics
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.