Freshman Rachel Ranson and sophomore Allie Evans each posted a pair of individual victories as the Tulane University women’s swimming and diving team defeated cross-town foe UNO, 117-76, Friday evening at the Lakefront Aquatic Center.
Each of the Green Wave’s 36 times were lower than their Privateer counterparts and Tulane posted wins in all 12 events. When it came to scoring, however, head coach Lena Guarriello decided to have the team exhibition all but one time in each event, as well as Sadie Eicher’s diving performance. With the win, Tulane improved to 1-2 on the year. UNO, meanwhile, fell to 0-1.
“One of our goals today was to start off strong and maintain that strength throughout the meet,” Guarriello said. “We told them not to even look at the score throughout the meet. It wasn’t really the score today that matter. It was about racing well, whether it be their No. 1, No. 2 or No. 4 event. I thought they did a great job of that today.
“We were definitely swimming against ourselves today and had some really great swims. Emily Needham started off the meet with an awesome 1000 free. She’s our flyer actually, but she put up the best time for the team so far this season and that should put her in the top 85 in the country. We just kind of followed through with each event after that. The girls really worked on some things that we focused on in practice and put together some solid races today.”
Ranson won the 50 free with a 24.64 and the 100 free with a 52.94. She also anchored Tulane’s 200 free relay, which won with a time of 1:39.36. Evans posted victories in the 200 and 500 freestyles with respective times of 1:55.47 and 5:08.68, and Needham clocked a 10:42.08 in the 1000 free.
Sophomore Lauren Pfohl won the 100 back with a 1:00.52, and rookie Shelby Kiser touched the wall at 1:10.07 to win the 100 breast. Grace Tarka emerged victorious in the 100 fly, clocking a 58.48, and Erin Cunningham won the 200 IM with a time of 2:11.24. Eichler was the lone diver to compete on Friday and scored a 208.20 on the three-meter springboard.
Kayla Alf-Huynh, Kristine Gu and Pfohl joined Ranson on the 200 free relay while the quartet of Pfohl, Cunningham, Tarka and Alf-Huynh won the 200 medley relay at 1:50.26.
Another student-athlete to draw praise from the head coach was freshman Cari Caprio. While Caprio was not among the Green Wave’s individual winners, she posted the No. 3 time in the 100 free (56.15), swam the third leg of the Tulane B 200 free relay team (1:43.44) and anchored the Green Wave’s C 200 medley relay team (1:56.52).
“Cari Caprio had a great first meet,” Guarriello said. “She’s had a tougher transition than some of the other girls. She came to Tulane as a cross country runner and part-time swimmer. She’s had a good, solid fall in training and today was her first meet. She put together some great races in the relays and the individual events.”
Tulane returns to action on Friday, Oct. 29, when the Green Wave host LSU at te Reily Student Recreation Center. The meet against the Tigers is one of two home meets for Tulane as Florida International comes to town on Nov. 13. Admission to both home meets is free.
COACH GUARRIELLO’S COMMENTS FOLLOWING FRIDAY’S MEET AT UNO
Overall thoughts on the meet
“We were definitely swimming against ourselves today and had some really great swims. Emily Needham started off the meet with an awesome 1000 free. She’s our flyer actually, but she put up the best time for the team so far this season and that should put her in the top 85 in the country. We just kind of followed through with each event after that. The girls really worked on some things that we focused on in practice and put together some solid races today.”
On the performance of true freshman Rachel Ranson
“Rachel Ranson had another great meet – a win in the 50 and a win of 100. She basically repeated last week’s times, which shows me that she swims just as well or better tired than she was a week ago when she was more rested.”
On who surprised her during the dual meet at UNO
“Cari Caprio had a great first meet. She’s had a tougher transition than some of the other girls. She came to Tulane as a cross country runner and part-time swimmer. She’s had a good, solid fall in training and today was her first meet. She put together some great races in the relays and the individual events.”
On Tulane not letting up from start to finish
“One thing that we’ve struggled with in the past was starting off strong. We’ve been the kind of team, traditionally, that builds up throughout the meet and have a good strong finish. One of our goals today was to start off strong and maintain that strength throughout the meet. I think the girls did a good job of that. We told them not to even look at the score throughout the meet. It wasn’t really the score today that matter. It was about racing well, whether it be their No. 1, No. 2 or No. 4 event. I thought they did a great job of that today.”
