Tulane Women Back In Action After More Than A Decade

NEW ORLEANS, La., October 16. IT has been almost 14 years since the last time the Green Wave hit the pool as an intercollegiate program, but the reborn Tulane University women’s swimming team opens the 2003-04 season on Friday when it travels to Houston, Texas to participate in the Bayou City Relays hosted by Rice University at 7 p.m.

The Relays will be the first of a pair of events in The Lone Star State as Tulane will remain in Houston on Saturday for the first-ever Aquathon beginning at 10 a.m.

“We are so ready to race,” head coach Daniella Irle said. “We’ve been working for eight weeks now, and we can’t wait to get out there and compete. We’ll have a chance to find out what we’re good at as well as what we need to work on. The team is confident and they are looking forward to representing the school to the best of their abilities.

“On top of that, this is going to be their first collegiate meet. You only get one ‘first meet,’ and it’s going to be special for all of them to go out there this weekend and experience that first meet together. This is a major milestone for this team, the alumni and the University.”

First up is the annual Bayou City Relays, a distinctive collegiate swimming event where the Green Wave and the Owls combine teams before competing in 12 untraditional relay races. In addition to the events like the “Crescendo Relay” and the “Flutter Kick Relay,” there will also be an unusual number of athletes – six to seven per team – at experimental distances like the 3×200-yard individual medley and the 6×25-yard freestyle.

The student-athletes of each team will make up their own relay orders prior to the start of the meet. All swimmers must swim a minimum of five events, but there will be no maximum event number.

On Saturday, the same two teams will square off in the first-ever Aquathon. This unique event, held at The Reef, features three competitive legs on the order of a triathlon, and will be scored like a collegiate cross country meet. The race will consist of one-mile, open-water swim, followed by a two-mile run and conclude with another one-mile swim in open water.

Following this weekend’s contests at Rice, the Green Wave returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 1 when they travel to Tallahassee Florida to take on Florida A&M, Florida Southern and North Florida. Tulane’s first home meet of the season is slated for Sunday, Nov. 23, when the Green Wave host Louisiana-Monroe and Nevada at 1 p.m. at The Reily Student Recreation Center Natatorium.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use