Tulane earned its first Conference USA Women’s Swimming and Diving title in just its second year as a Division I program. The Green Wave claimed the 2005 C-USA Championship title after posting a first place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay, the final event of the meet. Tulane’s head coach Danielle Irle earned the 2005 C-USA Coach of the Year honors. The TCU men’s team won their fourth consecutive 2005 Conference USA Men’s Invitational on Saturday at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center Natatorium.

For the women, TCU followed in second (729), while East Carolina (542.5), Louisville (487.5), Houston (441), Cincinnati (341) and Saint Louis (241.5) rounded out the women’s teams. On the men’s side, TCU earned its fourth C-USA crown with a team score of 834. Louisville finished second (800), while East Carolina (681.5) and Cincinnati (534.5) placed third and fourth place, respectively. Saint Louis followed with a score of 339.

“Last year about this time we competed in our first conference championship,” said Tulane’s Irle. “Following that meet I sat down with the girls and asked them where they wanted to be a year from then. In a crazy, yet determined fashion they all answered that they wanted to win. I guess with the right staff, the right group of athletes and the right environment, your goals become a self-fulfilled prophecy.”

Tulane, competing in its second C-USA Championship, opened the final day of competition with the first individual title. Sophomore Nicole Taheri posted a 16:57.49 finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle, while teammate Leslie Christian, who held the previous title, came in a close third with a time of 17:02.89. East Carolina’s Megan Pulaski earned second place with a time of 17:02.87.

Louisville quickly earned 36 of its 800 points in the second event of the final day, the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle, as Charlton Lawson grabbed his first collegiate individual C-USA Championship award with a second-place finish. Lawson swam the event in a time in a time of 15:49.34, while teammate Tyler Smith earned third place (16:04.23) en route to helping the Cardinals with 16 points. Carlo Piccio, who recorded his third C-USA individual title won the event with a time of 15:41.36.

In front of over 900 spectators, Houston women’s swept the platform diving awards with junior Azul Almazan atop the books with 512.20 points, 126.7 more than her closest competitor. The Cougars continue the trend of collecting diving honors with their fourth consecutive C-USA platform title, while never dropping a 1-meter or 3-meter springboard title in the conference meet. Teammate Rachel Gitelson collected 385.50 for second, while Stephanie Mannella earned 316.95 for the third place.

The Horned Frogs jumped passed the other teams as three TCU swimmers garnered the top three spots of the 200-yard backstroke. Sophomore Rikki Covey finished just moments before teammate Aimee Moreau as she posted a time of 2:02.89. Moreau nailed a 2:02.95 finish for second place, and senior Tiffany Strawn had a time of 2:04.21 for the bronze medal. Moreau, who swam in her final C-USA meet of her collegiate career, recorded the 2004 and 2003 200-yard backstroke titles.

Craig Chapman of TCU collected his third consecutive 200-yard backstroke C-USA title with a time of 1:47.00. Teammate Jonathon Berrettini came in second (1:48.29), while rookie Josh Barthlow of East Carolina earned third place (1:48.44).

Green Wave swimmer Linda McEachrane tabbed the women’s 100-yard freestyle with a finish of 50.01, 0.12 seconds faster than her 2004 C-USA 100-yard free title. McEachrane’s 20-point effort brought Tulane within 4.5 points of meet leader TCU.

For the third year in a row, the Cincinnati Bearcats grabbed the first place finish in the men’s 100-yard freestyle. Marcel Kleiner finished 0.14 seconds before teammate and league recordholder Ryan Yearwood. Kleiner won the event with a 44.69, which set a new Conference USA Championship record, while Yearwood finished at 44.83. Yousif Del Valle, who won the 200-yard freestyle in day three of competition, earned third place with a time of 45.08.

Senior Megan Capellupo claimed her first C-USA championship title with a 2:16.49 finish in the 200-yard breaststroke. U of L’s Heather Meng came in second with a time of 2:18.25, and East Carolina’s Diane Parker grabbed third place (2:19.53).

On the men’s side, Cameron Allred gave the Frogs their first meet title of the day with a 2:02.67 finish in the men’s 200-yard breaststroke event. TCU’s Allan McCallum claimed the second-place finish with a time of 2:03.12, while teammate and meet record holder Aran Bean won third (2:04.23).

Ann Degenstein of Cincinnati broke her previous C-USA Championship record, which was set last year in Houston, with a time of 1:59.88. The time for the Bearcat senior was a NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Kate Gordon of East Carolina came in second with a time of 2:02.12, while Houston’s SziSzi Szanto rounded out the top three with a time of 2:04.10.

Co-Men’s Invitational Swimmer of the Meet Adam Madarassy claimed the 200-yard butterfly with a finish of 1:45.73. Teammate Kleber Ihara followed behind with a time of 1:48.72 and George Gooch of TCU came in third (1:50.00).

The Men’s Invitational Diver of the Meet went to Louisville’s Robbie Lewis, who nailed the men’s platform diving title with a score of 453.50. The freshman won by a 122.1-point margin of victory. Bobby Wolf of Saint Louis earned second place with a score of 331.3, while Kelly McCain of TCU grabbed third (329.15).

The 2005 Conference USA Women’s Swimming and Diving champion ultimately came down to the final event of the day. Entering the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Tulane Green Wave stood only 3.5 points ahead of the TCU Horned Frogs. The Wave, who are competing in just their second conference championship, claimed a must-have first place finish with a time of 3:23.98 en route to the 2005 C-USA championship title. Devlyn Quinn, Sarah Dicharry, Tiffany Brown and Linda McEachrane made up the winning team. TCU’s Erica Tate, Aimee Moreau, Karen Sandifer and Rikki Covey made up the second place tamdem that posted a 3:25.74 finish. East Carolina’s Diane Parker, Courtney Felker, Adrienne Williams and Kate Gordon came in third (3:27.04).

On the final event for the 2005 Men’s Invitational, Cincinnati’s 400-yard freestyle relay claimed a new C-USA meet record with the Bearcats 2:58.65 finish. The winning team consisted of Ryan Yearwood, Enrique Bayata, David Gustavsson and Marcel Kleiner. U of L’s Adam Madarassy, Matt Lees, Jonathan Farnham and Matt Maley earned second with 3:00.06, while TCU’s Scott McCracken, Brent Norcross, Scott McCure, Yousif Del Valle grabbed third (3:00.68).

2005 C-USA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship and Men’s Invitational

CRWC Natatorium
Houston, Texas

Women’s Team Final Scores

1. Tulane 729
2. TCU 719.50
3. East Carolina 542.50
4. Louisville 487.50
5. Houston 441
6. Cincinnati 341
7. Saint Louis 241.50

Men’s Team Final Scores

1. TCU 834
2. Louisville 800
3. East Carolina 681.50
4. Cincinnati 534.50
5. Saint Louis 339


2005 Women’s Swimming Awards

Swimmer of the Meet: Diane Parker, ECU
Diver of the Meet: Azul Almazan, Houston
Freshman Swimmer of the Year: Amanda Taylor, Louisville
Freshman Diver of the Year: Christi Icenhower, ECU
Women's Swimming Coach of the Year: Danielle Irle, Tulane
Women's Diving Coach of the Year: Jane Figueiredo, Houston
Men's Co-Swimmers of the Meet: Craig Chapman, TCU/ Adam Madarassy, Louisville
Men's Diver of the Meet: Robbie Lewis, Louisville