After another long season, Tulane University Swimming and Diving competed and placed third in the American Athletic Conference in Dallas on Feb. 16. With almost half a season of competition since The Hullabaloo’s last update, the team has experienced great success and challenges during the second half of the campaign.

On Jan. 15, the Green Wave took on SMU at the Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center in Dallas. The team had five first-place finishes in what ended up being a hard 183-116 loss. 

During the meet, swimmer Noa Heron performed dynamically during the 1000-yard freestyle, finishing in first place, roughly 16 seconds ahead of the second place taker.

The Olive and Blue took podium finishes in both 100-yard backstroke and breaststroke thanks to Olympian Danielle Titus, Gianna Spremullo and Christiana Williams. Titus hit the wall at 55.9 seconds which was roughly two seconds before Spremullo, and Williams finished after 1:04.48 minutes, which was roughly 1.5 seconds ahead of her SMU counterpart. Titus also took first place in the 200-yard backstroke, milliseconds before her competitor, leaving her highly decorated after this meet. 

The team competed again on Jan. 21 against The University of Houston which, despite pulling seven first-place finishes, ended with a 121-179 loss. 

Despite this loss, head coach Leah Stancil said, “This meet was a great celebration for the seniors. We had some strong swims (and dives) and this meet was the most competitive that I have seen for this season. I was impressed with how much our technical skills are improving. I am always looking for growth at these competitions and the team continues to move forward.” 

“We have twenty-six days, and one more college meet before the start of AAC Championships, every practice is a movement towards a successful season,” Stancil said.

During the Houston meet, sophomore Spremullo won first place, touching the wall after only 2:04.47 in the 200-yard individual medley. Williams also placed first in the 200-yard breaststroke. Both swimmers took multiple podium finishes during the meet. 

In the AAC Championships, Tulane finished third of five, finishing behind the champion Houston Cougars and the SMU Mustangs. The Green Wave started brightly, setting a school record in the 800-yard freestyle relay en route to a win and placing third in the 200-yard freestyle relay. 

Day two saw Lilly Byrne win the 500-yard freestyle, and day three saw her win the 200-yard freestyle as well. Titus continued her spectacular season with another win in the 100-yard backstroke, while Spremullo won the 400-yard individual medley.

Day four saw the Green Wave win three more silvers, while Titus won it all in the 200-yard backstroke.

While the swim team has faced challenges this year, it can take joy in a phenomenal season by Danielle Titus, and that Lilly Byrne won Most Outstanding Swimmer during the AAC Championships.

This article has been corrected.