Five Tigers Win Event Titles as LSU Downs Tulane 192-105

Tulane at LSU

• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Sept. 28, 2019
• LSU defeats Tulane 192-105

Courtesy: LSU Athletics

BATON ROUGE, La. – Five different Lady Tigers brought home victories on Saturday at the LSU Natatorium as the LSU Women’s Swimming and Diving Team defeated Tulane by a final score of 192-105.

IN THE POOL

Five Lady Tigers won a total of eight events in route to the Tigers’ first dual meet victory of the new season. Jolee Liles won the 200-Yard Butterfly with a time of 2:03.41. Olivia Taylor touched the wall first in the 50-Yard Freestyle with a time of 23.54 and Helen Grossman won the 100-Yard Butterfly after swimming a 54.95.

Two Lady Tigers won multiple events. Junior Cassie Kalisz claimed the top spot in both the 100 and 200-Yard Backstroke. She touched the wall in 55.23 in the 100-Yard and 1:58.92 in the 200-Yard.

Freshman Summer Stanfield finished the meet with three victories. She touched the wall in 51.99 to win the 100-Yard Freestyle, 1:51.42 to win the 200-Yard Freestyle, and 2:02.53 in the 200-Yard IM.

In the 400-Yard Medley Relay, the team of Kalisz, Olivia Paskulin, Grossman, and Katarina Milutinovich touched the wall in 3:44.38 to win.

“We had a really great week of training so I knew we had put the work in leading up to this meet,” said LSU head swim coach Dave Geyer. “The women stepped up today. We took a huge step starting with the relay and just went from there.”

A total of seven underclassman finished in the top three of their respective events while six upperclassman followed suit. That combination stands out in the mind of Coach Geyer.

“We had that huge senior class last year that featured a lot of talent, and a lot of times it’s easy to stay in the shadows of a class like that. With that class gone, we needed some people to step up and really find out what this team is going to be this year. From the senior class and all the way down to the freshman, today gave me a good picture of what we could be and I like it.”

ON THE BOARDS

On the One-Meter Springboard, Aimee Wilson took the top spot after diving to a score of 319.88. Anne Tuxen finished second with a 294.83, and Hayley Montague rounded up the trio of Lady Tigers in the top-three with a 259.35.

All three Lady Tigers finished in the top-three again on the Three-Meter Springboard. This time however, Tuxen took the top spot with a score of 337.88. Wilson dove to a score of 329.40 to finish second, and Montague finished with a 318.30 to place third.

“I saw huge improvement today from our Intrasquad Meet last weekend,” said LSU head diving coach Doug Shaffer. “It’s so early in the season that I just wanted them to focus on being relaxed, having fun, setting their dives up, and then just go do what they do. With that, we have three divers in a total of six events with five NCAA Zone qualifying scores. We just want to continue to build on those steps as we move forward in the season.”

Courtesy: Tulane Athletics

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Tulane University swimming and diving team fell to LSU by a final score of 192-105 in its 2019-20 season opener Saturday morning at the LSU Natatorium.

Despite the loss, second-year head coach Leah Stancil was pleased with a number of Tulane’s strong performances, as the Green Wave finished with four individual victories and one relay win.

“We had some great swims today from Olivia Johnson, Kate McDonald and Lilly Byrne,” Stancil said. “I think we have a good starting point for the direction that we need to move toward.”

McDonald led the way for the Green Wave, as she won a pair of races, claiming the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, posting times of 1:03.39 and 2:16.93, respectively.

Johnson opened her senior season on a high note by winning the 1,000 freestyle event, finishing in a time of 10:13.57.

The Green Wave also picked up a winning performance from newcomer Byrne, who opened her collegiate career with a first-place finish in the 500 freestyle (4:57.39).

“I think our freshmen had a good experience from being able to learn and then move on, so I’m excited to see how the season progresses,” Stancil said.

Tulane closed out the dual meet with a victory in the 200 freestyle relay, as it clocked a time of 1:39.15. Freshman Drew Petereit, junior Courtney Barker, sophomore Iza Pelka and freshman Madison Cummings guided Tulane to the winning performance.

“I think our team handled today’s environment really well,” Stancil said. “They stepped up to the challenge and raced really well. They were also very supportive of one another and showed a lot of energy. I have no question about their approach to things and I really think they stepped up to the challenge wonderfully.”

Tulane returns to action on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 10 a.m., as it heads to Houston.