2000-2001 Men's Season Recap

  

The men's team with the winner's trophy after the 2001 SCAC Championships.

    2000 - 2001 proved to be the most exciting year yet in the history of the men's swimming and diving program here at Trinity University.  The highlight of the season was an incredible come-from-behind win at the 2001 SCAC championships.  After winning the men's SCAC Swimming and Diving championships team title in 1999, the Trinity Tigers proved less formidable throughout the 1999-2000 season.  The unexpected loss of senior, All-American Joseph Moore (injury) and the unquestionable ability and depth of the DePauw University men's team resulted in the transfer of the SCAC crown from the T.U. campus in San Antonio to that of their Indiana rival.  DePauw outscored Trinity by 202 points at the conference meet in February of 2000.  With Trinity scheduled to host the 2001 SCAC finale, the Tigers began the fall semester of the 2000-2001 season with two goals in mind .... swim super fast at the conference championships and regain the team title with a win over DePauw.

    With a talented group of first-year men joining an experienced squad, T.U. anticipated a successful season.  Accomplishing the team’s season goals was going to be a challenge…. the problem was DePauw.  The Y2K conference champs were clearly going to be better than ever.  While Trinity was counting on having an improved line-up in the water, DePauw was sure to have a monstrous advantage on the 1 and 3 meter diving boards.  The Trinity coaching staff began crunching numbers early in the year, and soon concluded that DePauw was going to pick up approximately 140 unanswered diving points on the first two days of the three day championship meet.  The predicted deficit seemed insurmountable.  At an early-season meeting with several of his veteran swimmers, Coach John Ryan explained the situation and pointed out the fact that DePauw would again be the heavy favorite to win.  Junior Dylan Stentiford countered with considerable optimism, stating, "Coach, we can do it.  You wait and see!  We’ll win conference this year!"  His words proved prophetic.

T.U. swimmers can do more than just swim - they're pretty good water polo players as well !  (Texas A&M, October 2000)

    The fall season seemed faster than most, possibly because so many of the men played on Trinity's first-ever club water polo team.  The chance to play water polo provided the T.U. men with a new way to prepare for their swimming season - enthusiasm for the game ran high.  The squad was coached by Jim Yates and Jeff Guest and was so successful that it was invited to the CWPA Division III national tournament (T.U. did not attend because the opportunity and the associated costs were not anticipated).  The swimming team's meets began even before the water polo season ended, and the coaching staff had to do a little juggling to coordinate the two competitive schedules.  All worked out and by the middle of November, the men had won dual meets with McMurry University and Austin College and were looking pretty good.  A loss at home to Henderson State University served as a bit of a wake-up call just before the team traveled to New England for a pair of back-to-back meets with Connecticut College and Amherst.  Not all went well during the long weekend in the northeast, and the coaching staff concluded that the team needed to get their priorities straight and better define their swimming goals.  While T.U. was more talented than Connecticut College, the Lord Jeffs of Amherst proved to be a tougher and more focused team than the Tigers.  The 123-73 loss probably helped T.U. get back on track.  There was much yet to be done if Trinity was to reign supreme at the 2001 SCAC Championships.

    Thanksgiving recess was followed by final exams, a brief training camp, the winter recess, and a longer training camp in Fort Lauderdale.  Winter recess training in Fort Lauderdale proved to be one of the season's highlights.  The team met there just after the new year began and resumed training at the International Swimming Hall-of-Fame pool.  Early in the fall semester, Tufts University coach Don Megerle had recommended to Ryan and Assistant Coach Martin Green that T.U. stay at the Waterfront Inn because of their hospitality, familiarity with college swim teams, and location (a 1.2 mile walk to the pool).  That's where the team resided for its week of "fun-in-the-sun" and it was a great choice.  While the weather was sunny, it was also unseasonably cold and windy.  The water was beyond chilly.  Despite that distraction, the Tigers swam lots of miles in the pool, enjoyed the beach, and had a great time hanging out together.  Spring semester classes resumed on January 9, and T.U. easily outscored Colorado College in a meet the following weekend.  On January 20, the Tigers took a win from Southwestern at a meet in Georgetown, followed a week later by a 3 session timed final invitational at the T.U. Bell Athletic Center.  Another win.  The table was now set for the 2001 SCAC Championships; to be hosted by Trinity at San Antonio's nationally acclaimed natatorium at Palo Alto Community College.

Right from the first day of the conference meet, the Trinity team showed lots of spirit and enthusiasm.

    Trinity knew from the get-go that the name of the game at conference was going to be "catch up."  The team began the meet on Thursday morning with an outstanding preliminary session.  This proved to be significant, for upon returning to the pool for the evening finals, the T.U. men learned that DePauw had scored a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 3-meter diving.  Down 68 points before swimming a single race, it would have been easy to give up the dream of a conference team title and instead focus on trying to outscore the University of the South (Sewanee) for the honor of SCAC runner-up.  Giving up, however, was not part of the plan.  In the meet's opening event, the 200 freestyle relay, DePauw raced to a win with an NCAA consideration time of 1:24.75.  The win was expected.  The surprise was Trinity's 1:24.83, also an NCAA cut.  The Tigers of T.U. accomplished the feat without freestyle ace Dylan Stentiford, who sat out the event for the first time in 3 years so that he could focus on the 500 freestyle.  It is worth noting that Trinity won the consolation final of the sprint relay, limiting DePauw to just a 2 point net gain in the event.  Team depth was already starting to influence the ultimate outcome of the meet.  In the next race of the night, the 500 freestyle, Stentiford led from the start and recorded new conference meet and open records with his time of 4:37.99 (FY Ryan Van Der Kar surprised the field with his 4:43.77, finishing second ahead of DePauw's Landon Williams).  DePauw rebounded with a win in the 200 IM but T.U. FY Tait Ecklund set a new school record (1:58.09) and T.U. placed four other men in the 2 scoring heats of the night's second individual event.  The 50 freestyle proved to be huge for Trinity.  DePauw went 1-2 in the even, but the T.U. foursome of Zach Coburn, Will von Rosenberg, Stephen Eustis, and Andrew Callahan countered with a 3-4-5-7 finish for a total of 57 points.  Thursday's final even was the 400 medley relay, and DePauw captured the event with a new conference open record (3:27.32).  Trinity stayed in the game by defeating the Sewanee entry for the silver medal.  The scoreboard showed DePauw in the lead with 326 points, followed by Trinity (263.5) and Sewanee (207).

Ryan Van Der Kar on the way to a win and a meet record in the 400 IM.

    On Friday, Trinity again had an outstanding preliminary session and DePauw again scored a bundle of points on the diving board as they went 1-2-3-5 for 67 points.  DePauw had a 129 1/2 point lead in the overall team competition.  They then won the 200 medley relay with a new SCAC open record, but T.U. only gave up 2 points in the event by winning the consolation final and finishing runner-up in the championship final heat.  The score was now 447 to 315.5 in favor of DePauw.  Then, the Tigers went to work.  FY Ryan Van Der Kar set new SCAC meet and open records in the 400 IM (4:06.69), with Tait Ecklund, Adam Bellinger, and Nathan Fowkes securing the 3-4-5 spots.  DePauw went 1-2 in the 100 butterfly but Trinity's depth again gave the home team the majority of the event's points.  Andrew Gnann, Stephen Eustis, Ryan Stevens, and Andrew Callahan went 3-4-5-7 and Noah Wallace finished 10th to give Trinity another 64 points.  Each team picked up 37 points in the 200 freestyle, as Dylan Stentiford knocked 1 second off his old SCAC meet and open record by clocking a 1:41.22 and taking his second win of the meet for Trinity.  Dan Gonzalez and Ryan Scholz added valuable points by scoring in the event.  DePauw then snared 41 points to Trinity's 27 in he 100 breaststroke, although T.U.'s Suhada Ratnayake surprised all with his 3rd place finish and Kyle Cavanaugh snuck into the big final for the first time ever.  The 100 backstroke was the session's final individual event and Trinity made it count big time.  Zach Coburn and Andrew Gnann went 1-2.  Coburn led the way, setting new conference meet and open records in the morning prelims (51.34) and then touching first at night with a 51.63.  Will von Rosenberg, Cory Sanders, Curt Keiffer, and Noah Wallace went 5-7-8-9 to round out Trinity's point bonanza in the dorsal event, as T.U. tallied 83 points to DePauw's 44 points.  Trinity then closed the gap even further by winning the consolation final and the championship final of the 800 freestyle relay.  When you're hot, you're hot.  The T.U. entry of Andrew Gnann, Ryan Van Der Kar, Zach Coburn, and Dylan Stentiford blistered the field as they recorded a time of 6:54.19, setting new SCAC meet and open records in the 

Trinity's record-setting 800 freestyle relay team.

process.  By way of comparison, Sewanee was the runner-up with a 7:07.79 (a total of 13.60 seconds behind).  The Trinity men were absolutely on fire and the scoreboard now showed them just 25.5 points behind DePauw (675 to 649.5).  When they left the natatorium at the end of the night, every Trinity swimmer was convinced that they had a chance to capture the conference crown on Saturday.

    Saturday, February 17…. Yet another good preliminary session helped Trinity set the stage for an exciting evening of racing.  DePauw's swimmers received no bonus points from their divers on the final day, giving T.U. even more hope for an upset.  Ryan Van Der Kar then stepped up and went 16:15.86 in the 1650 freestyle - a new meet record.  DePauw, however, went 4-5 and outscored T.U. 29 to 20 in the event.  Zach Coburn then won his second gold medal of the weekend, capturing the 200 backstroke with new SCAC meet and open records (1:51.57).  Curt Kieffer and Cory Sanders went 7-8 for more points, but DePauw again outscored Trinity in the event.  The 100 freestyle was the next race and here the Tigers were ready to roar.  Andrew Gnann, Dylan Stentiford, Will von Rosenberg, Andrew Callahan, Stephen Eustis, Noah Wallace, and Ryan Scholz went 2-4-7-10-12-14 and T.U. put 73 points on the scoreboard.  DePauw's lead was now down to 22.5 points.  The 200 breaststroke then turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the night.  Sewanee went 1-2-3 for its best finish of the meet, and Trinity snared 47 points overall with a 4-5-7-11 tally.  Ryan Stevens, Adam Bellinger, Suhada Ratnayake, and Kyle Cavanaugh were the heroes here.  The T.U. Tigers then outscored DePauw 54 to 49 in the 200 butterfly, to take its first lead of the meet - a 1/2 point advantage.  The score was Trinity 886.5 to DePauw's 886, with Sewanee out of the hunt with a total of 583.  The meet was to be decided by the outcome of the final event, the 400 freestyle relay.

   What bedlam.  Trinity already knew that its women were assured of winning their second consecutive conference title.  All of the team's attention and energy focused on the eight men who were to swim in the consolation final and the championship final of the 400 freestyle relay.  Andrew Callahan, Stephen Eustis, Ryan Stevens, and Noah Wallace were the first to compete and they performed superbly - winning the consolation with a 3:11.66 and bringing the Trinity crowd to a near frenzy.  When the two teams squared off in the final race of the night, it was to be "winner take all."  Zach Coburn opened for Trinity and recorded a 47.08 against Josh Heisler's 47.17 lead leg for DePauw.  Andrew Gnann then split 46.08 and touched ahead of DePauw's Todd Darlington.  Will von Rosenberg had a good start for T.U. and Elliot Mueller had an incredible take-off for DePauw, and each man raced all-out to give his team's anchor an opportunity to capture the event and the meet.  Trinity touched first with a 2:20.37 and DePauw was just behind at 2:21.86, with Dylan Stentiford combating Dan Garrison for the whole enchilada.  Trinity's junior split a 45.84 and the team recorded a 3:06.21 to win the event, setting meet and SCAC open records and touching off a celebration the likes of which no Trinity team has ever experienced.  DePauw's Dan Garrison split a 45.07 anchoring his team's relay, which touched up with a 3:06.93 (also under Trinity's 1999 record time of 3:07.01).  The Tigers from Texas accomplished what had seemed just two days earlier to be impossible.  The final score was Trinity 944 1/2 to DePauw's 934 (Sewanee finished up third with 625 points).

    It was a total T.U. team sweep - the men and the women were thrilled and eager to celebrate, and that is exactly what they did.  Trophies were awarded and the team did some enthusiastic cheering and some treading of water.  Swimmers, coaches, and parents later met at La Fonda Restaurant in Alamo Heights for a hearty late-night Mexican dinner and more celebrating.  Finally, the team adjourned for some additional partying of their own.  It was a night to remember.

    All in all, 6 Trinity men and 5 T.U. women achieved NCAA Championship automatic consideration times at the 2001 conference meet.  Will von Rosenberg, Andrew Gnann, Dylan Stentiford, Zach Coburn, and Ryan Van Der Kar attended the NCAA Men's Championship in Buffalo, NY, the weekend of March 15-16-17.  They achieved All-American honorable mention recognition by placing sixth on the 800 freestyle relay with a 6:53.89 time.  On the women's side, Trinity was represented at the NCAA Championships a week earlier by Christy Jayne, Ingrid Udris, Christina Pikla, and Stephanie Walla.  Walla set new T.U. and SCAC records with her 2:07.31 in the 200 backstroke, earning All-American honors in that event.  All of the Tiger women likewise earned All-American recognition.

    2001 was a banner year in the brief history of Trinity University's swimming and diving program.  T.U. will lose Nathan Fowkes, Curt Keiffer, and Noah Wallace to graduation at the end of the year.  This group leaves a legacy that includes two SCAC team titles in the past 3 years.  What will the 2001-2002 team do with their inheritance?  The future is, as always, unpredictable.  Will each returning athlete have the foresight and dedication to prepare for next season during the summer recess?  Are they hungry for another conference win or will they be complacent and risk surrendering their SCAC crown to another school's team?  Only time will tell.  One thing is for sure - the winning team trophy for the 2001 SCAC Championships is on permanent display in the lobby of Trinity's Bell Athletic Center.

 

Men's SCAC Team Rankings

  

Individual High Point Award
1. Dan Garrison    DePauw   57
1. Clint Troxel    DePauw    57
1. Ryan Van Der Kar    Trinity    57
4. Zach Coburn    Trinity    56
5. Dylan Stentiford    Trinity    55 

50 Freestyle
1. Dan Garrison    DePauw    21.34
2. Josh Heisler    DePauw    21.51
3. Zach Coburn    Trinity    21.65 

100 Freestyle
1. Dan Garrison    DePauw    46.53
2. Andrew Gnann    Trinity    46.58
3. Josh Heisler    DePauw    46.76 

200 Freestyle
1. Dylan Stentiford    Trinity    1:41.22
2. Ryan Bouldin    Sewanee    1:43.49
3. Chris Carter    Sewanee    1:46.03 

500 Freestyle
1. Dylan Stentiford    Trinity    4:37.99
2. Ryan Van Der Kar    Trinity    4:43.77
3. Landon Williams    DePauw    4:49.01 

1650 Freestyle
1. Ryan Van Der Kar    Trinity    16:15.86
2. Chad Jones    Rhodes    16:55.96
3. Justin Kelly    Sewanee    16:57.00 

100 Backstroke
1. Zach Coburn    Trinity    51.63
2. Andrew Gnann    Trinity    53.56
3. Andrew Cornett    DePauw    53.64

200 Backstroke
1. Zach Coburn    Trinity    1:51.57
2. Elliot Mueller    DePauw    1:55.13
3. David Breiding    Rose-Hulman    1:55.32

100 Breaststroke
1. Mike Maggard    Sewanee    59.06
2. Elliot Mueller    DePauw    59.25
3. Suhada Ratnayake    Trinity    1:01.38

200 Breastroke
1. Ryan Bouldin    Sewanee    2:09.80
2. Mike Maggard    Sewanee    2:10.99
3. Adam Whiteside    Sewanee    2:13.73

100 Butterfly
1. Clint Troxel    DePauw    51.15
2. Dan Garrison    DePauw    51.30
3. Andrew Gnann    Trinity    52.21

200 Butterfly
1. Clint Troxel    DePauw    1:54.23
2. Nathan Fowkes    Trinity    1:59.17
3. Mike Whitesell    DePauw    1:59.93

200 Individual Medley
1. Elliot Mueller    DePauw    1:55.20
2. Clint Troxel    DePauw    1:57.41
3. Ryan Bouldin     Sewanee    1:57.44

400 Individual Medley
1. Ryan Van Der Kar    Trinity    4:06.69
2. David Breiding    Rose-Hulman    4:14.10
3. Tait Ecklund    Trinity    4:14.13

200 Medley Relay
1. DePauw    1:34.69
2. Trinity    1:36.81
3. Sewanee    1:38.40

400 Medley Relay
1. DePauw    3:27.32
2. Trinity    3:38.94
3. Sewanee    3:41.49

200 Freestyle Relay
1. DePauw    1:24.75
2. Trinity    1:24.83
3. Sewanee    1:27.42

400 Freestyle Relay
1. Trinity    3:06.21
2. DePauw    3:06.93
3. Rose-Hulman    3:14.46

800 Freestyle Relay
1. Trinity    6:54.19
2. Sewanee    7:07.79
3. Rose-Hulman    7:13.13

  

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