Tanase was a standout diver for the Athenas swimming and diving team from 1984-88, earning All-America honors at nationals as a senior, and returned to Claremont to took over as the head coach of the program in 1991. During her undergraduate days, she also played club water polo when not in diving season, and one of her top priorities when she returned to campus was to advocate for women's water polo to become a funded varsity team. She helped make her case by leading the 1992 Athenas to the Collegiate II National Championship, and the next year, CMS made the announcement that the program would turn varsity beginning in 1994. Tanase stayed on board as the first head coach, earning SCIAC titles in 1997 and 1999, and then earning a place in the Ted Ducey CMS Hall of Fame in 2023.