Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving
2007-08 Preview/Recap

2007-08 Trinity Women's Preview/Recap

Four Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference team titles in a four-year span.

That ground-breaking feat was the single most significant accomplishment of the 2006-2007 season for the Trinity women’s swimming and diving team.

The Tigers once again outscored the other eight colleges and universities competing for the SCAC crown. Trinity established a new record for consecutive SCAC victories and enabled the Class of 2007 the thrill of starting and finishing their college careers with nothing but team titles each and every season.

Leading the Trinity charge at the 2007 SCAC Championships were All-Conference sophomore Lindsay Weigley of Clarksville, Md.; and juniors Lauren Walstad of Katy, Texas; and Leta Gatton of Brownsville, Texas. Weigley captured conference wins in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle and finished runner-up to teammate Gatton in the 200 freestyle. Leta might have been a double-winner but was disqualified for a false start in the 100 freestyle, while attempting to defend her 2006 title in the century sprint. She later led off TU’s 400 freestyle relay with a 53, the SCAC’s fastest flat start of the year.

Walstad won SCAC Diver of the Year honors while setting conference records on the 1 and 3-meter boards. She led teammates Lindsay Martin (first year; Longview, Texas); and junior Jennifer Parker of Flower Mound, Texas, to 1-2-3 finishes on both the low and the high diving contests.

The 2006-2007 team worked hard to achieve its conference title. Many observers thought DePauw would, after a three-year drought, hit pay dirt and take the 2007 crown behind the outstanding performances of junior Katie Doogan. The TU Tigers once again had their best meet of the year when it really counted and outscored the team from Indiana 934.5 to 774.5 in its own backyard.

So, what’s in store for the 2007-2008 season?

Every woman winning a SCAC title returns to defend her crown. That will make things very interesting. Trinity will lose Lauren Clements of La Mesa, Calif.; Jackie Acuna of Portland, Texas; and Maddie Sanders of Albuquerque, N.M., from its 2007 scoring roster. Returning to the fray are All-SCAC swimmers and divers Lauren Gann (sophomore; Huntsville, Texas); Alison Gizinski (junior; Tucson, Ariz.); Sonya Karbach (junior; Saudi Arabia); Maria Lopez (sophomore; Mexico City); Annia Parra (sophomore; El Paso, Texas); and Renee Ulrich (sophomore; Albuquerque).

All-in-all, it would seem that a group of rookies might have the ability to again make the Tigers contenders for another win. Look for that possibility as a reality.

As good as Trinity’s women were in diving last winter, they could be even better in the year to come. Joining a talented nucleus that put a record number of points on the SCAC scoreboard will be Amy Oliver and Haley Emerick, winner of the Texas University Interscholastic League’s Class 4A 1-meter diving event last February.

Incoming swimmers include Leigh-Anne Ladyman of Nashville, Tenn; Mary West of Phoenix; and Texans Sara Griffis (Kingwood), Darcy Wheeler (Round Rock); Annie Felgin (San Antonio); Kristen Zinser (Cypress) and Natalie Treurniet (San Antonio).

Coach John Ryan thinks every one of these ladies has the potential to contribute to Trinity’s title defense.

“We have the potential to be better in 2008 than we were in 2007,” claims Coach Ryan, who has led every Trinity campaign since its inaugural 1992-1993 season. “Leadership will be critical and I think our seniors are ready to step up and provide is with exactly what we need – good attitudes and tough competitiveness.”

Leta Gatton and Brittany Ballard (Tyler, Texas) will lead the swimmers while Lauren Walstad will be called upon by Coach Stan Randall to inspire TU’s divers.

“There are several schools in out conference which would like nothing better than to see us get ‘wupped’ in Dallas this February,” notes Coach Ryan. “However,” he adds, “winning is fun and we’ve made it a tradition to work hard along the way and have some fun at the end.”

Trinity will again try to put it all together during the course of the 2007-208 season and then compete in the championships as the season finale.

Perhaps the team motto should be “We’ll strive for five!” At any rate, potential contenders such as DePauw, Centre or Sewanee will really have to step it up a notch if they are to dethrone what should be a pretty tough troop of Trinity Tigers.

Count on this year’s team to be after yet another SCAC win!