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| The T.U. Tigers ham it up after receiving the trophy for their second consecutive SCAC title. |
2000-2001 Women's Season Recap
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| The T.U. Tigers ham it up after receiving the trophy for their second consecutive SCAC title. |
Trinity captured the SCAC team championship for the year 2000 thanks to a superb effort on the part of its senior class. Nine women Tigers graduated at the end of the year and T.U. was faced with the difficult task of replacing their talent and their leadership, not to mention several hundred points. Rising to the challenge, the 2000-2001 Trinitonians surprised conference observers with a terrific group of first-year athletes and some wonderful performances from the team's veteran ranks. Once again, the outcome of the SCAC Championships was close - and once again, Trinity captured the team title. Trinity's women tallied 917 over the 3 day competition, edging the University of the South (Sewanee) by 56 points and outscoring the ladies from DePauw University by 204 points. Trinity had every swimmer and diver in its line-up contribute points, and the Tigers from Texas set 7 school records and 5 conference meet records on the way to their team victory. Seven T.U. women are sure to earn SCAC All-Conference honors as a result of their performances at the meet.
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| The team gathers for a photo on the gymnasium steps at Amherst College (November, 2000) |
Like many seasons, 2000-2001 had its ups and downs. Trinity began the year with its biggest team ever, and easily won its opening meets with McMurry University, Austin College, and Henderson State University. A late November trip to New England provided the team with a needed wake-up call. After easy wins over Connecticut College and UMass Dartmouth, the Tigers got slapped silly by a talented Amherst team. The coaching staff felt the trip to be a good learning experience, but concluded the team lacked focus and needed a higher level of commitment if it was to achieve its potential. After Thanksgiving and the rigors of final exams, a short training camp seemed to help begin the process of getting the T.U. athletes back on track. "I thought the team handled our post-exam training very well" was Coach John Ryan's assessment, "It was a good stepping stone towards our Ft. Lauderdale trip and the success of our SCAC meet."
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| This is Florida, alright. Where's the pool? |
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.
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| We have spirit! The T.U. women getting psyched up for the opening night session of the SCAC Championships. |
After some fine morning swims during the opening session of the meet, the T.U. women returned to the pool Thursday night to discover that seniors Melissa Juliano and Karen Bernhardt had finished 1-2 in the afternoon 1 meter diving final. Trinity's two best divers, defending champion Caitlin McEathron and Brandi Roberson were out of the competition due to injuries, so the outcome was joyous news to the swimmers and their coaches. The smiles soon turned to tears in the meet's first final, however, when Trinity's 200 freestyle relay raced to a school record, only to be disqualified for a jump start. That set-back meant the team had to go to work to get back in the meet.... and they did. Shannon Clower, Katy Fitzhugh, and Caesie McHenry all scored in the big final of the 500 freestyle, followed by an excellent 2-3-5 finish by Christy Jayne, Christina Pikla, and Andrea Lucas in the 200 IM. Ingrid Udris then set a new school record of 24.74 while winning the 50 freestyle, with Kristi Zugay adding additional points. The T.U. men were having an incredible night as well, and that inspired the Tiger women. The Trinity foursome of Stephanie Walla, Christy Jayne, Christina Pikla, and Ingrid Udris finished the evening with a big win in the 400 medley relay, setting school and SCAC records (3:59.76) and earning Trinity's first-ever NCAA women's relay qualifying time. The evening concluded with Sewanee holding on to a narrow lead over Trinity (265-258), with DePauw just behind. There was still work to be done.
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| Christina Pikla on the way to a school record in the 100 butterfly. |
For a few brief hours on Friday afternoon, DePauw jumped in front of Trinity thanks to a 1-2-3 finish on the 3 meter board. With T.U. now positioned 3rd place in the team scoring, the Tigers kicked off the second night of the conference championship with somewhat lackluster performance in the 200 medley relay. However, the Tiger team quickly got things going in the first individual race of the session, the 400 IM. Christy Jayne swam to a win with an NCAA cut, with senior Shannon Clower turning in her fastest-ever time along the way to a 4th place finish. FY Christina Pikla and Junior Andrea Lucas then went 1-2 in the 100 butterfly ("Pickle" set a school record of 59.53), followed by an outstanding 2-3 finish in the 200 freestyle by Udris and Walla. Picking up team steam, T.U. placed 3 women in the big final of the 100 breaststroke (Zugay took a bronze medal here for the Tigers). FY Stephanie Walla and senior Amy Guest kept Trinity in the scoring column of the 100 backstroke with a 2-6 finish, setting up the evening's grand finale. At this point, the T.U. women trailed Sewanee 569 to 548, with DePauw posting 474 points. The Tiger foursome of Zugay, Walla, Jayne, and Udris then stepped up and raced to a 6.28 second win over Sewanee in the 800 freestyle relay (the T.U. men finished the night with a record setting win as well) and the T.U. women left the natatorium with a slim 620 to 616 lead over Sewanee and a 102 point advantage over DePauw's total of 518.
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| Cheering for Ingrid Udris and Christy Zugay in the 100 freestyle finals. |
"We can win it if the women swim well. This meet is ours if we'll step up and take it!" was Green's assessment just prior to the third and concluding night of the 2001 SCAC Championships. "Amen" was Ryan's only contribution to that conversation. The session's opening race, the 1650 witnessed Sewanee's women finish 4-5-6, but Trinity's senior distance ace Shannon Clower captured her 4th consecutive SCAC mile title with a 17:46.56, just 18/100's off her conference record. Stephanie Walla followed Clower's NCAA consideration time with one of her own, winning the 200 backstroke with a 2:09.34 (she achieved school and meet records with a 2:09.25 in the prelims). Guest and McHenry added valuable points, finishing 5-7. Ingrid Udris then raced to a silver medal in the 100 freestyle, setting a new T.U. record (53.58) and nabbing her first individual NCAA consideration time. Sewanee had 3 big finalists in the sprint classic and scored enough points to give their team a 745 to 730 lead.
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| This Tiger foursome tallied 59 points for T.U. in the 200 breaststroke. |
After that, however, it was all Trinity. Christy Jayne led three other T.U. big finalists (Katy Fitzhugh, Christy Anderson, and Sarah Cowan) in the 200 breaststroke as she took her second win of the meet. Then, Christina Pikla captured the 200 butterfly (setting new T.U. and SCAC meet records in the prelims with her time of 2:10.80), as Andrea Lucas and FY Kate Wheeler went in the big final - with four other T.U. flyers snaring the top 4 places in the consolation final. Had all seven Trinity swimmers been disqualified, Sewanee might have won the meet. That didn't happen. When Ingrid Udris, Christy Jayne, Stephanie Walla, and Kristi Zugay walked to the starting blocks for the 400 freestyle relay, the meet's outcome was a done deal. Sewanee out-touched the T.U. entry 3:40.44 to 3:40.80, but the Tigers from Texas got to celebrate their team's second consecutive SCAC Championship crown thanks to their 917 point total (a new SCAC meet record). Moments later, Trinity's men joined their female counterparts in the winner's circle by out-touching DePauw 3:06.21 to 3:06.93, giving the Tigers a 944.5 to 934 conference victory. It was a total T.U. team sweep. At that point, there was nothing to do but celebrate. That, of course, is exactly what the Tigers did. First, the trophies and cheers and some treading of water.
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| Celebrating
the wins. Here's
the technique - you tread water with one hand held up high and you yell ! |
Then, swimmers, coaches, and parents met at LaFonda Restaurant in Alamo Heights for a hearty late-night Mexican dinner. The team later adjourned for some additional partying of their own. It was a night to remember.
All in all, 5 Trinity women and 6 T.U. men achieved NCAA Championship automatic consideration times at the 2001 conference meet. Christy Jayne, Ingrid Udris, Christina Pikla, and Stephanie Walla attended the NCAA Women's Championship in Buffalo, NY, on the weekend of March 8-9-10. Walla set new T.U. and SCAC records with her 2:07.31 in the 200 backstroke, earning All-American honors in that event. The others each achieved All-American honorable mention recognition by scoring points in individual and/or relay events. This same foursome set a new school record in the 800 freestyle relay (7:55.86) while racing to a place finish. On the men's side, Trinity was represented at the NCAA Championships a week later by Will von Rosenberg, Andrew Gnann, Dylan Stentiford, Zach Coburn, and Ryan Van Der Kar. All of the Tiger men likewise earned All-American recognition.
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| T.U. chicks at Nationals - glad to be inside, 'cause there was snow outside in Buffalo, New York (March, 2001) |
2001 was a banner year in the brief history of Trinity University's swimming and diving program. T.U. is due to lose 7 women via graduation in May. Catherine Bordelon, Jen Browne, Amy Guest, Shannon Clower, Chelsea Chapman, Karen Bernhardt, and Melissa Juliano are soon-to-be swim team alums. This group leaves a legacy that includes two consecutive SCAC titles. 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. The T.U. women have named it Margarita, but that's another story...
Women's SCAC Team Rankings
| 1 | Trinity University | 917 |
| 2 | University of the South | 861 |
| 3 | DePauw University | 713 |
| 4 | Southwestern University | 365 |
| 5 | Rhodes College | 283 |
| 6 | Hendrix College | 277 |
| 7 | Centre College | 184 |
| 8 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Tech. | 110 |
SCAC Individual High Point Award
1. J.H. Chapman Sewanee 63
2. Christy Jayne Trinity 60
2. Christina Pikla Trinity 60
4. Ingrid Udris Trinity 57
4. Stephanie Walla Trinity 57
50 Freestyle
1. Ingrid Udris Trinity 24.74
2. Katie Payne DePauw 24.98
3. Hester Wagner Sewanee 25.15
100 Freestyle
1. J.H. Chapman Sewanee 53.34
2. Ingrid Udris Trinity 53.58
3. Julie Mediamolle Rhodes 55.21
200 Freestyle
1. J.H. Chapman Sewanee 1:55.94
2. Ingrid Udris Trinity 1:56.90
3. Stephanie Walla Trinity 1:59.58
500 Freestyle
1. Blythe Ashcraft Centre 5:18.25
2. Shannon Clower Trinity 5:19.70
3. Alison Miller DePauw 5:22.29
1650 Freestyle
1. Shannon Clower Trinity 17:46.56
2. Alison Miller DePauw 18:33.56
3. Lauren Spencer DePauw 18:44.19
100 Backstroke
1. Katie Reis DePauw 59.29
2. Stephanie Walla Trinity 1:00.43
3. Katie Beehler DePauw 1:01.21
200 Backstroke
1. Stephanie Walla Trinity 2:09.34
2. Katie Reis DePauw 2:09.70
3. Hadley Dempsey Sewanee 2:13.38
100 Breaststroke
1. Julie Culbertson DePauw 1:09.44
2. Laura Cook Sewanee 1:10.83
3. Kristi Zugay Trinity 1:11.90
200 Breastroke
1. Christy Jayne Trinity 2:27.84
2. Julie Culbertson DePauw 2:29.56
3. Laura Cook Sewanee 2:33.75
100 Butterfly
1. Christina Pikla Trinity 59.89
2. Andrea Lucas Trinity 1:00.79
3. Martha Taylor DePauw 1:01.24
200 Butterfly
1. Christina Pikla Trinity 2:10.80
2. Martha Taylor DePauw 2:13.47
3. Andrea Lucas Trinity 2:15.04
200 Individual Medley
1. J.H. Chapman Sewanee 2:10.81
2. Christy Jayne Trinity 2:11.78
3. Christina Pikla Trinity 2:13.88
400 Individual Medley
1. Christy Jayne Trinity 4:40.95
2. Dana Woods Sewanee 4:47.17
3. Martha Taylor DePauw 4:48.61
200 Medley Relay
1. Sewanee 1:51.64
2. DePauw 1:52.14
3. Trinity 1:59.85
400 Medley Relay
1. Trinity 3:59.76
2. DePauw 4:04.71
3. Sewanee 4:10.50
200 Freestyle Relay
1. Sewanee 1:40.08
2. DePauw 1:40.68
3. Southwestern 1:45.03
400 Freestyle Relay
1. Sewanee 3:40.44
2. Trinity 3:40.80
3. DePauw 3:43.69
800 Freestyle Relay
1. Trinity 8:02.69
2. Sewanee 8:08.97
3. DePauw 8:10.92