Nov. 8, 2014
NASHVILLE, TENN. – The Vanderbilt swim team capped off their final home meet of the fall defeating Tulane 178-109, but falling to WKU 175-115 (includes diving points). The Commodores came out victorious in several tight races, posting top-three finishes in 13 of 14 eligible events. First time this season the Commodores hosted racing and diving events, which went on simultaneously at the Centennial Sportsplex.
“I thought today was really great. We had great team bonding and team leadership,” said senior Elly Faulkner. “I thought that we really pulled it together as a team to come out with a win. Everyone really stepped up and swam their hardest.”
Vanderbilt’s Kathryn Coughlin clinched first place in the 100-yard breaststroke, swimming in with a time of 1:03.67. Additional success came when the Commodores took to the waters for the 200-yard breaststroke; with Vandy sweeping the podium taking first, second, and third place. Kara Lucenti carried on her season’s success after winning first place in three events last weekend. The freshman out of Kenilworth, Ill. adds another win under her belt, swimming a time of 2:20.01. Faulker (2:22.67) and Coughlin (2:24.25) rounded out the trio, taking second and third respectively in the 200-yard backstroke.
The freshman class has had a very impressive fall, giving solid performances in each meet. Summer Brown recorded a second place finish in the 200-yard freestyle, and helped her team to a first place finish in the 400-yard relay, with WKU swimming a faster time as an exhibition.
“Every pool is just a new opportunity,” said Brown. “In every race, if you have a lane you have an opportunity to swim as fast as you possibly can. So take it. We all have our goals in mind and we’re starting to prepare for SECs. My goal every race is to just get faster and faster, and get the most points for my team a I possibly can.”
The Commodores hit the road for their last meet of the fall, traveling to Atlanta, Ga. for the Georgia Tech Invitational on Nov. 20.
“Before the Georgia Tech Invite I think we need to focus on our technique more,” said Faulkner.” We’ve done a lot of really hard training, but now it’s time to polish some things off.”
