NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The 2024-25 Vanderbilt swimming season gets underway on Friday when the Commodores visit Tulane, with the meet set to start at 12 p.m. at the Reily Center Natatorium.
“We’re looking at a clean slate for this team to start the season,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “There is a lot of excitement about getting in this first meet and getting the season up and running. We want to go in and give us a starting point to build off of in order to set the base for the rest of the year, then we’ll look to continually improve each week moving forward.”
The Dores will be led by a pair of seniors who recorded the program’s top mark in a combined seven events last season, Mercedes Traba and Kailia Utley. The former posted Vandy’s fastest time in the 500, 1,000, and 1,650 freestyle as well as the 400 individual medley, while the latter paced the Commodores in the 100 and 200 butterfly—events she qualified for the NCAA Championships in—along with the 200 backstroke.
Megan Ciezczak enters her final season at the collegiate level after ending 2023-24 second on the squad in the 50 and 100 free, while sophomores Grace Ciaramitaro (200 back, 400 IM) and Madelyn Porter (200, 1,000, 1,650 free) ranked second on Vanderbilt’s performer list in multiple events a year ago as well.
Nine newcomers are slated to compete for the Commodores at the meet, including graduate transfers Libby Gilbert, Reagan Mathieson and Jojo Pearson along with Quinlan Hinerfeld, who swam for the Green Wave the last two seasons.
The Dores have won each of the last three meetings in the series after defeating Tulane 136½-67½ on Senior Day last season, and now hold a 10-6 edge in the all-time series.
