Little Rock’s women’s swimming and diving team posted a strong showing on the second day of the Mardi Gras Invitational in New Orleans, securing a win over North Texas before competing against Tulane at the Reily Student Recreation Center Natatorium.
In the morning session, Little Rock defeated North Texas 57–29. The Trojans started with a victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as their A team finished first with a time of 3:31.60. Beatriz Comini Romero, Lena Nikolaeva, Lyla Roper, and Gabriella O’Neil made up this winning relay team.
Megan Stewart won the 200 individual medley (IM) with a time of 2:05.30. Anna Nishizaki followed in second place at 2:08.91. In other events, Olivia Elgin claimed first place in the 100 butterfly (57.72), and Amara Addison led a sweep in the 100 backstroke (56.26). The Trojans also secured top spots in several other races throughout the session.
The session ended with another relay win for Little Rock A in the 400 medley relay (3:50.10), which included Amara Addison, Adara Stoddard, Megan Stewart, and Olivia Elgin.
Following the morning’s success, Head Coach Nathan Townsend said: “Another great session for the Trojans this morning. Everyone is racing really well and continuing to step up. I’m extremely proud of their preparation before, during, and after each race. All the work we’ve put in throughout this challenging training block is showing in how we’re performing in the pool. We’re looking forward to finishing strong tonight as we race Tulane in our final session.”
In Saturday night’s competition against Tulane, Little Rock lost 44–33 but saw notable performances and record-breaking swims.
The highlight came when Little Rock A set new school and pool records by winning the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 7:18.88; swimmers were Beatriz Comini Romero, Megan Stewart, Gabriella O’Neil, and Olivia Elgin.
Amara Addison broke another school record by placing second in the 50 backstroke (26.74). Other podium finishes included Lena Nikolaeva taking second place both in the 50 butterfly (25.80) and 50 freestyle (23.44), while Megan Stewart was runner-up in the 400 IM (4:19.32).
Izzy Thibodeau had a significant performance drop—ten seconds from her previous best—in placing fourth for Little Rock during the closing event of Saturday night’s meet: she completed her race at 10:33.08.
Reflecting on Saturday’s events, coaching staff stated: “When we talk about Saturday being for the Trojans, Saturday truly was for the Trojans,” adding praise for both record-breaking efforts and individual improvements such as Thibodeau’s personal best performance:
“We kicked off tonight’s session with an absolutely incredible performance from our ladies in the 800 free relay, smashing the school record and setting a new pool record at Tulane. Everyone stepped up and raced hard every time they hit the water. A special shoutout to Izzy Thibodeau, who has worked her tail off all year and dropped 10 seconds in the 1,000 for a massive personal best. I couldn’t be more proud of her and of all the Trojans tonight.”
For updates on Little Rock Swimming & Diving results or upcoming meets visit LRTrojans.com or follow @LittleRockSwim on social media.
