HOUSTON - The Tulane women and TCU men lead after the second day of competition at the 2005 C-USA Women's Swimming and Diving Championship and Men’s Invitational. The Green Wave took a 12-point advantage on day-two of the four-day event, held at Houston’s Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium. TCU’s women (234) stand in second place, followed by Louisville (186), Houston (169), East Carolina (166), Cincinnati (129), and Saint Louis (111). On the men's side, the Horned Frogs command first place with a total of 287 points, followed by Louisville (262.5), East Carolina (210.5), Cincinnati (206.5), and Saint Louis (130.5)

The Green Wave entered day-two tied for third, but the quartet of Tiffany Brown (57.34), Linda McEachrane (1:03.54), Taylor Emerson (55.46) and Sarah Dicharry (51.04) joined forces to log a time of 3:47.38 in the 400 medley relay, which was over a second and a half faster than runner-up East Carolina (3:48.81) to help the Tulane catapult their squad into first place. The squad became the first Tulane relay team to win a conference title while also setting a Tulane, C-USA Championship and pool record.

Yesterday, Cincinnati’s Ann Degenstein, who was named to the C-USA Women’s Swimming and Diving All-Decade Team earlier in the week, captured the 500 freestyle title. Her time of 4:51.71 beat the previous championship record that she set in Indianapolis on Feb. 19, 2002. For the men’s 500 free, Adam Madarassy of Louisville posted a time of 4:26.92 to add 20 of the Cardinals 186 points.

Szintia Szanto etched her name in the Cougar records book in the second swimming event of the day. With a clocking of 2:04.47 in the 200-yard individual medley, the Budapest, Hungary, native set a new school record and became the first C-USA individual swimming champion in school history.

Meanwhile, the Houston divers continued their winning streak at C-USA meets by taking the top three places on the 3-meter springboard. Junior captain Azul Almazan was an easy winner with 547.25 points, more than 130 points ahead of her closest competitor. 2004 C-USA Diver of the Year Almazan collected her second consecutive even and earned her third C-USA diving championship title of her collegiate career. Teammate and sophomore Rachel Gitelson finished second in the event with 415.75 points, while junior Stephanie Mannella was a close third with 413.75.

The meet continues Friday, starting with the preliminaries of the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard backstroke. The preliminaries of the women’s 1-meter and men’s 3-meter competition is slated to begin at 1 p.m. (CST). The finals will resume at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the meet are still available. Adult all-session tickets can be purchased for $25, while adult single-day tickets are $10.

Women's Team Scores (After Day Two)
1. Tulane (246)
2. TCU (234)
3. Louisville (186)
4. Houston (169)
5. East Carolina (166)
6. Cincinnati (129)
7. Saint Louis (111)

Men's Team Scores (After Day Two)
1. TCU (287)
2. Louisville (262.50)
3. East Carolina (210.50)
4. Cincinnati (206.50)
5. Saint Louis (130.50)