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Greetings to prospective, alumni and current Trinity University swimmers
and divers!
Upon
completion of the award-winning Bell Athletic Center in the fall
semester of 1992, Trinity University introduced NCAA varsity swimming
and diving for the first time in school history. Former Alamo Area
Aquatics coach John Ryan returned from Connecticut to San Antonio after
a 10-year hiatus to found the new program and to guide Trinity through
its inaugural season. The first year was relatively successful, and both
the men's and women's teams have improved season by season since the
spring of 1993.
A
member of NCAA Division III, Trinity has a true commitment to both
academic and athletic excellence. The University attracts approximately
650 very bright and talented new students each year, and strives to
provide its students/athletes with both a quality undergraduate
education and a highly competitive athletic experience. Trinity's
overall athletic program is one of the very best among the NCAA's small
colleges and universities. A member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic
Conference, Trinity has won numerous all-sports awards and a grand total
of 76 SCAC Championships since the conference's inception in 1991.
The
following is a tour through the colorful Trinity University Swimming &
Diving history. Enjoy!
1996-1997
February of 1997 proved to be a benchmark date in the history of the T.U.
program. That year, Trinity's men and women swimmers and divers each
won their respective team championship at the Southern Collegiate
Athletic Conference Invitational for the first time ever. First year
Joseph Moore and junior Sarah Scott both won three gold medals and set a
total of six meet records at the 1997 SCAC finale. Their accomplishments
earned them each the SCAC High Point Award for the meet, setting a
standard of excellence for future Trinity swimmers and divers. Moore and
Scott went on to earn All-American honors at the 1997 NCAA
Championships.
1997-1998
The
1997-98 season was highlighted by more of the same. The women's team
captured its second consecutive SCAC Invitational crown and the men were
runner-up in their title chase. Moore and Scott again won three
individual events each, winning SCAC High Point Awards for their
performances. They also earned All-American honors at the NCAA
Championships, serving as an inspiration to all associated with
Trinity's swimming and diving program.
1998-1999
The
Tigers from Texas began the 1998-99 season with high hopes, and the
season turned out to be a big success. The men and the women each
enjoyed 10 wins over their in-season opponents, finishing the year with
unblemished records. Swimming and diving became an official Southern
Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship sport for the first time as
DePauw University, Southwestern University and Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology all jumped into the SCAC competitive pool with Trinity,
Sewanee and Hendrix.
In
February of 1999, Trinity's men made history by capturing the first-ever
SCAC Swimming and Diving Championship, hosted by the University of the
South in Sewanee, Tennessee. The T.U. Tigers snatched four of five men's
relay events during the meet's three-evening final sessions to surprise
and outscore pre-meet favorites DePauw and Sewanee. Junior Joseph Moore
and first year Dylan Stentiford each won two individual races to pace
the Tigers on their way to victory. On the women's side, first year
Christy Jayne and sophomore Shannon Clower both notched double wins
while leading the Trinity women to a second place finish behind
conference rival Sewanee. Trinity's men and women scored more points
than the combined total tallied by any other school in the conference,
proving that the overall balance of power in the SCAC was located in San
Antonio, Texas.
1999-2000
The
1999-2000 season opened in late October with dual meet wins over a
first-ever team program at McMurray University in Abilene. The trip was
fun and set the stage for another successful year. The women again
marched through the winter with a 10-0 record against all opponents,
while the men settled for an 8-2 season. The Y2K SCAC Swimming and
Diving Championship was hosted by DePauw University and the February
trip north proved memorable.
Reversing the 1999 final results, Trinity's women captured the 2000 SCAC
team title with an exciting upset win over the defending champions from
Sewanee. Trinity had seven senior women step up and have their best-ever
college championship meet. Led by lifetime personal record winning
efforts from Lynn Lyons and Susi Sokol, the competitiveness displayed by
the seniors inspired the team to a 874.5 to 842 victory. First year
Caitlin McEatheron triumphed on both the 1 and 3 meter boards to win
valuable team points on the way to winning the SCAC Diver-of-the-Year
award. The TU men were missing the services of All-American Joseph
Moore (out with an injury) and lacked the team depth that helped them
garner its 1999 win over DePauw. When all was said and done, the Y2K
results proved the Tigers from Indiana to be deeper and stronger than
their Texas counterparts. While Trinity swam well and Dylan Stentiford
captured two wins, TU had to settle for the consolation of beating out
longtime rival University of the South for team runner-up honors.
2000-2001
Could
Trinity rebound in 2000-2001? That was the challenge the Tigers had to
answer. After a slow start in the fall semester, the winter swimming
and diving season was highlighted by a sunny (yet chilly) week of
training at the International Swimming Hall-of-Fame in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. The trip helped pave the way to a successful conference
finale. Trinity served as the host for the 2001 SCAC Championships held
in San Antonio on the weekend of February 15-16-17. The Tiger women
rebounded from a first-event relay DQ to earn a 56 point win over
Sewanee, setting seven school records and three conference records in
the process.
Trinity's men, in the meantime, enjoyed an absolutely awesome weekend
and achieved what most observers thought to be an impossible feat. After
the first night and two sessions of diving, the TU Tigers were 129.5
points behind the heavily-favored DePauw Tigers in the team scoring
column. A great finals session on Friday, highlighted by SCAC
record-setting wins in four of the six evening events, closed the gap to
35.5 points. An enthusiastic crowd of athletes and spectators then
witnessed another great session of swimming on Saturday night. By the
last event of the meet, Trinity had tallied 886.5 points to DePauw's 886
points. The meet came down to a case of "winner-take-all" and the TU 400
freestyle relay team of Zach Coburn, Andrew Gnann, Will Von Rosenberg
and Dylan Stentiford did just that. Trinity led from the start and
touched up with a 3:06.21 to DePauw's 3:06.93, taking their second team
title in three years. There was absolute pandemonium in the stands and
on the pool deck when the scoreboard flashed the outcome of the final
race, and hence, the meet. Trinity's relay team gave the Tigers the
team title over DePauw by a final score of 994.5 to 934. All in all,
the men set nine school records and eight new conference records over
the course of the weekend. Zach Coburn narrowly edged teammates Dylan
Stentiford and Ryan Van Der Kar for SCAC Swimmer-of-the-Year honors.
Four
Trinity women and five Tiger men swimmers attended the 2001 NCAA
Championships, held in March in Buffalo, NY. Every one of the nine
scored at the national meet, with all earning either All-American or
honorable mention All-American rankings. Despite a bit of a let-down
from the emotional high associated with the teams' SCAC wins the season
finale at the NCAA's proved positive.
2001-2002
2001
was for sure going to be a hard act to follow, yet both the TU men and
the T.U. women rose to the occasion at the 2002 Southern Collegiates.
The University of the South was once again the meet host, and Trinity
traveled "up the mountain" to prove yet again their SCAC pre-eminence.
The men won 10 out of 18 individual and relay swimming events on their
way to a 158.5-point team win over runner-up DePauw. Seniors Dylan
Stentiford, Will Von Rosenberg, Andrew Gnann, Ryan Stevens, and Adam
Bellinger provided the kind of senior leadership it takes to help
guarantee a team's success. Stentiford won both the 500 and the 200
freestyle for the fourth consecutive year, and added the 100 freestyle
title to his collection.
He
and sophomore Ryan Van Der Kar (winner of the 200 butterfly and the 200
and 400 IM races) shared SCAC Swimmer of the Year honors. On the
women's side, Christy Jayne and first-year Jessica Isenberg came up with
conference record-setting wins for the Tigers and led TU to a
surprisingly one-sided win over Sewanee and DePauw. Trinity's depth was
the difference, as every woman on the team scored points in at least one
championship final heat. The women scored 951 points overall, the
highest total ever in the SCAC's four-year history.
The
2002 NCAA Championships was held at Miami University (Ohio), with
Trinity again well-represented. Ryan Van Der Kar, Dylan Stentiford, and
Zach Coburn each set a new TU record, and the latter two earned
All-American honors in the process. In addition, Jessica Isenberg
qualified for the NCAA Women's Championships by virtue of her school and
conference record in the SCAC 50 freestyle, marking her first trip to
the national meet.
2002-2003
The 2002-2003
season started slowly and the TU Tigers seemed to have a little
difficulty picking up momentum following their highly successful
2001-2002 season. The loss of a strong graduating class in the spring
of 2002, several illnesses and injuries, and a small incoming men's
group opened the door for other schools to challenge Trinity's supremacy
at the SCAC Championships. TU won some of it's early meets, but it
wasn't until the winter recess training trip to Fort Lauderdale that the
coaching staff felt positive about the consistency and quality of the
team's training and its focus on the SCAC's and the NCAA's. Trinity
experienced some good performances at their annual later-December Tiger
Invitational, but journeyed to Greenville, Mississippi, for the 2003
SCAC's fully aware that DePauw's men and women were stronger and much
deeper than the preceding year.
Sure enough,
DePauw was ready and they put more points on the scoreboard than TU was
able to muster, despite some terrific performances on the part of the
defending champions. Ryan Van Der Kar led the way for Trinity's men,
winning the SCAC Swimmer of the Year Award by virtue of wins in the 500
freestyle, the 400 Individual Medley and the 200 Butterfly (establishing
new SCAC meet records in the latter two events). DePauw's men, however,
used their swimming depth and their team's ability to go 1-2-3-4 in both
the 1 and 3 meter diving events to run up a total of 945.5 points.
Trinity's lack of depth and their inability to contest DePauw on the
diving boards contributed to the Tigers loss of the SCAC crown, after
back to back wins in 2001 and 2002. TU scored 743.5 points, outstanding
Sewanee's 638 points. On the women's side, FY Catherine Jelf captured
gold in the 400 Individual Medley, marking the 5th consecutive year a
Trinity woman has won that event. Sophomore Jessica Isenberg swam to a
tie win in the 100 freestyle and Junior Stephanie Walla upset DePauw
All-American Amy Allen in the 200 backstroke, breaking the meet record
by 1.55 seconds. In the end DePauw's women accrued 944.5 points to
Trinity's 862.5 points, while Sewanee rounded out the top three teams
with a 702 point total. It marked DePauw's first-ever SCAC team victory
in women's swimming and diving.
Ryan Van Der Kar
and Zach Coburn attended the 2003 NCAA Championships in Atlanta, and
both earned All-American honors at the season finale. Van Der Kar set a
new conference open record on the 200 butterfly with his 1:52.71, while
Coburn scored for the second straight year in the 200 backstroke. All
in all, the trip to the NCAA's was fun and the Tigers returned to San
Antonio satisfied with their performances.
2003-2004
The 2003-2004
swimming and diving season was all about trying to regain the men’s and
women’s top spots in the SCAC. DePauw was the defending state champion
on both sides of the aisle and Trinity was determined to not be the
bridesmaid two years running.
After winning
dual meet seasons and a good winter training trip to Fort Lauderdale,
FL, the Tigers, men and women, swept into Cleveland, Mississippi, in
February and re-established their conference supremacy. Trinity
University’s women had nine of the top 12 individual point scorers, and
put a record-breaking 1,030 points on the team scoreboard. The men
topped DePauw’ 773 total by 108 points, earning a winning total 881.
Senior Ryan Van
Der Kar won three events and was named SCAC Swimmer-of-the-Year for the
men (earning that honor for an unprecedented third time in a row).
Over the weekend,
Trinity’s women showed what the phrase “team depth” is all about. The
first individual race at the SCAC’s is the 500 freestyle, and there
Carrie Fitzgerald, Catherine Jelf and Caesie McHenry went 2-3-4 closely
followed by Kate Wheeler, Jackie Acuna and Jessie Waltman at 8-9-12.
The outcome of the championship was almost a done-deal as the points for
the 500 free were tallied. The next race was the 200 IM and there
Stephanie Walla, Christina Pikla and Jessica Meager went 2-3-4 while Ann
Wilcox and Christy Anderson finished 10-11. Jessica Isenberg then
recorded an All-SCAC runner-up finish in the 50 freestyle, followed by a
Trinity victory in the 400 Medley Relay. The TU lead in team scoring
was, at that point, insurmountable.
During the next
two days, Trinity’s women tallied wins in nine more individual races and
two more relays. Catherine Jelf, Lauren Clements, Christy Anderson,
Stephanie Walla, Jessica Isenberg, Jessica Meager and Carrie Fitzgerald
were all gold medal winners during TU’s SCAC victory march. It was
impressive, to say the least.
No team before or
since has scored over 1000 points at conference. End of story there!
In the meantime,
the 2004 Trinity men’s team put on quite a show of their own. They
opened the SCAC’s with a win in the 200 freestyle relay (Zach Coburn,
Evan O’Dea, Dan Petersen and Andrew Callahan) chased down with Ryan Van
Der Kar’s win in the 500 freestyle and Petersen’s conference record
setting win in the 200 IM.
Sewanee won the
50, but TU went 2-3-4 (Callahan, Coburn, O’Dea) followed by the win in
the 400 Medley Relay to cap off the night. It was “deja-vu” all over
again when compared to the Trinity women’s performances.
On Friday, VDK
won the 400 IM for the 4th year in a row, Petersen set a
school record 50.96 en route to a win in the 100 butterfly, O’Dea beat a
close field to take the 200 freestyle (1:43.26), Petersen, again,
surprised with a 58.66 win in the 100 breaststroke and Coburn earned
top-dog honors in the 100 backstroke. TU’s 17-second win in the 800
freestyle relay was awesome and it looked certain that the Tigers had a
lock on another championship team title.
Sure enough,
February 14th, 2006, was the day of reckoning. Blair Boudousquie
started things off with a win in the 1650, Callahan captured the 100
freestyle with a personal best 46.75, and Van Der Kar won yet another
200 butterfly in 1:53.86. TU then topped South in the 400 freestyle
relay (3:08.83) to seal the deal, bringing the conference trophy back to
San Antonio for the 4th time in 6 years.
2004-2005
By late September
of 2004, the TU swimming and diving team was back to work preparing for
another season. Coaches John Ryan and Ad’m Dusenbury had a good group
of athletes training in the pool and Coach Stan Randall had assembled an
all-new collection of divers to work the boards.
Everyone knew
that the SCAC Championships were coming to town in February. The fall
semester featured a 12-mile open water relay race at Lake Travis (near
Austin), couple of successful invitational meets in Dallas culminated
with a productive winter training trip in Florida. The Tiger
Invitational in late January went well and, almost before it seemed
possible, the February 2005 conference meet got kicked off at the Josh
David Natatorium in north San Antonio.
Trinity’s women
swam fabulously, racket up 978 points to easily outscore DePauw (693 ½)
and Sewanee (578) and achieved more NCAA “A” and “B” cuts than ever in
its history. It was a great meet for the Tigers. A lot of swimmers
from all over the conference swam well, yet the TU women again showed
their talent by placing five swimmers amongst the top nine point
producers in the meet.
Jessica Isenberg
led the way with wins in the 50 and 100 freestyle and a runner-up finish
in the 100 butterfly. Isenberg’s 23.63 50 free time shattered her own
conference record by ½ second and electrified an already excited crowd
of spectators and swimmers. Earlier that evening she split a 23.12
white joining Kelly Leyendecker, Leta Gatton and Patricia Wiener as they
hit a school record 1:38.01 in the 200 free relay. Another TU foursome
(Jessica Meager, Leyendecker, Lauren Clements and Isenberg) went 4:00.42
in the 400 medley relay, out-swimming DePauw by 4.1 seconds and hitting
an NCAA consideration time.
Things then just
kept getting better for the Tigers. On Friday, their 60-point lead
exploded to a 180-point advantage on the field. TU’s 200 medley relay
opened the night with a 1:48.25 win (Meager, Leyendecker, Jessica
Tibbitts and Isenberg), setting a conference record and achieving
Trinity’s first-ever NCAA relay “A” cut. The lid was off the pot and
the water was boiling. Clements, Isenberg and Tibbitts went 1-2-3 in
the 100 butterfly, Leta Gatton set a school and conference record in the
200 freestyle (1:53.94) and Leyendecker and Tibbitts went 1-2 in the 100
breaststroke. The times were sizzling.
Every team in the
meet was swimming well and everyone came back on Saturday ready to
race. Carrie Fitzgerald opened the night with a well-paced (17:48.83)
upset win over 3-time champion Lizzy Land of Sewanee in the 1650 free.
Isenberg went 52.58 to win the 100 free with yet another SCAC record
(ditto an NCAA cut) and TU swimmers were prominent in the finals of the
200 back and 200 fly. The night and the meet ended with another Trinity
win. This time it was Gatton, Leyendecker, Samantha Spaman and Isenberg
setting a conference record in the 400 free relay. Jessica Isenberg’s
51.77 split helped TU hit a 3:34.40 as they out-dueled DePauw and
Sewanee in the closing race of the meet. What a season for the Tiger
women!
Not to be
outdone, the men had enjoyed a weekend of racing that was on par with
the women, but was outscored by both DePauw and Sewanee (847 – 761 –
734) for a third place finish overall.
First year Dario
Turjanski, sophomore Dan Petersen and first year Will Basinger recorded
six sings to lead the Tigers in the water and first year Ryan Cook won
both the one and three meter diving events on his way to earning SCAC
Diver-of-the-Year honors. Sprint freestyle depth was an issue for the
Tigers for the first time in years, and it kept TU from scoring big in
the free relays.
In the first race
of the SCAC's opening night, Turjanski and fellow first year Basinger
went 1-2 in the 500 to kick-start the meet. TU pout three swimmers in
the big final of the 200 IM but moved Dan Petersen out of the race (he
was the defending champion) to make a run at the 50 freestyle (he
finished runner-up to DePauw’s Robert Alexander). Despite the lack of
team firepower in the 50 (and helped by a 1-3-6 finish in the three
meter diving), Trinity finished the opening night nipping at DePauw’s
heels in the team race, 254 to 245.
As the meet
progressed, Trinity and Sewanee kept outracing DePauw, but the boys from
Indiana had the numbers and kept edging away from the field in the team
race. Dan Petersen beat Sewanee’s Matt Martelli in the100 butterfly
(50.85 to 51.05), Dario Turjanski won the 200 free (1:44.85) and
Trinity’s 800 free relay of Petersen, Turjanski, David Rivard and
Basinger destroyed all with a 8 ½ second win. Meanwhile, DePauw moved
to a 33-point lead in the team race despite achieving only a single win
for the day.
Saturday was a
repeat of the first two days. Ryan Cook won the one meter diving,
Turjanski and Blair Boudousquie went 1-3 in the 1650, Petersen was
runner-up to DePauw’s Robert Alexander in the 100 free, TU earned a 2-3
finish in the 200 breaststroke and Basinger went out easy and reeled in
Sewanee’s defending champ Martelli to win the 200 fly. DePauw finally
won a relay race, taking the 400 free to cap off their meet.
Incredibly, they
won only two of 20 events in the entire championship meet program –
another testimony to the importance of depth in collegiate swimming and
diving.
2005-2006
The Trinity
University Women’s swimming and diving team has now won three
consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference titles, each by a
margin of well over 200 points. This accomplishment is clear testimony
to the Tigers’ ability to step up as a team and perform superbly at the
end of the season.
A review of the
2006 SCAC Championship meet puts the spotlight on several
accomplishments. The Tigers won eight individual events on their way to
capturing fourteen top 3 individual finishes overall, the most of any
team in the conference. First-year Lindsay Weigley was awarded SCAC
Women’s Swimmer of the Year honors, while sophomore Lauren Walstad was
recognized as the SCAC Women’s Diver of the Year. Weigley set a new
Trinity school record in the 500 freestyle and qualified for the NCAA
Championships in the 200 freestyle, while Walstad set conference records
in both the 1 and 3-meter diving contests. Other Trinity event winners
included Jessica Tibbitts, Leta Gatton and double winner Jessica
Meager. Perhaps an even more impressive accomplishment for the women
was their collective 3.225 GPA for the spring semester, earning the team
Academic All-American honors from the College Swim Coaches Association
of America. Individually, Lauren Walstad was recognized as an Honorable
Mention All-American for her 3.563 GPA.
Six senior women
led T.U. through the 2005-2006 season and their departure has opened the
door for other conference teams to move onto center stage. Coach John
Ryan and his staff of Stan Randall, Head Diving Coach, and Amanda Bos,
Assistant Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach, will, of course, do all they
can to bring another SCAC team trophy back to San Antonio in February of
2007. Trinity will field a very young squad this winter, as a big group
of first-year swimmers and divers join several accomplished upper class
women for the 2006-2007 campaign. This team will have to train hard and
focus intently upon preparing for the SCAC’s if they are to extend TU’s
Conference winning streak.
The 2005-2006
varsity men’s team enjoyed a relatively successful winter season,
capping it off with a terrific showing on the second weekend of February
at the 2006 SCAC Championship meet in Cleveland, Mississippi. The
highlight of the year to that point was solid win over McMurray
University at an invitational meet in November at the Keller ISD
Natatorium in Dallas, and a rigorous winter training camp at the
beautiful La Loma High Altitude Training Camp in San Luis Potosi,
Mexico.
Trinity’s
outstanding SCAC meet featured many wonderful performances by the TU
men, who captured more top three finishes in individual races than any
other team in the conference. The Tiger’s lack of depth came back to
bite them, however, as DePauw used theirs to win the conference team
title by a 829.5 to 713 margin. Trinity had the largest number of SCAC
All-Conference performances for the 3 ½ day contest, providing some
consolation for the effort extended and the results achieved.
Event winners
included SCAC Swimmer-of-the Year and Junior Dan Petersen (200 IM, 100
and 200 breaststroke) and Sophomore Will Basinger (500 free). It should
be noted that All-American diver Ryan Cook suffered a shoulder
separation shortly before the conference meet, hindering his training
considerably, yet still bounced back to finish second on both boards to
fellow All-American Dustin Schulten of Centre. Cook then outscored
Schulten a month later at the NCAA Championships.
2006-2007
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; and juniors Lauren Walstad and Leta Gatton.
Weigley captured conference wins in the 500 and 1650 freestyles and
finished runner-up to 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 53.0,
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 and Jennifer
Parker to 1-2-3 finishes on both the low and high boards.
The Trinity
University Men's Swimming and Diving team enjoyed a successful 2006-2007
season, training hard and winning enough meets along the way to prepare
itself for a terrific conference championship meet in Crawfordsville,
Indiana on the weekend of February 7-10, 2007. The team faced a
tough battle at the 2007 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Championships, finishing in the runner-up position to DePauw University
and winning a duel to the end with Centre College, Colorado College, and
the University of the South.
Leading the
Tiger's charge at the SCAC's were seniors Dan Petersen and Evan O'Dea,
both closing out their college careers with winning swims.
Petersen captured his fourth consecutive 200 IM crown on the meet's
opening night, and chased that with a win in the 100 backstroke on the
following evening. O'Dea won his first-ever 500 freestyle title in
the meet's opening finals session, marking the 9th straight Trinity win
over this particular distance. A Trinity Tiger has won the 500
freestyle at every SCAC Championship since the inception of the
conference meet, and before that they captured every 500 freestyle in
the three year history of the SCAC Invitational.
2007-2008
The 2008
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving
Championships marked the conclusion to yet another successful season for
the Trinity University Lady Tigers.
Led by senior
Leta Gatton in the water and an outstanding troop of divers on the
boards, the Tigers topped traditional rival DePauw University by a score
of 910 to 750.5 last February to take their fifth consecutive team
title. Gatton concluded her collegiate career with two SCAC
record-setting individual wins, clocking 52.46 and 1:53.77 in the 100
and 200 freestyle events. Leta also split a sizzling 51.90 in
Trinity's 400 freestyle relay.
Trinity further
reaped the rewards of another pair of stellar conference meet
performances from senior Lauren Walstad. The two-time SCAC Female
Diver of the Year concluded her career with silver and bronze medal
finishes in the 1 and 3-meter diving events. Despite breaking her
conference records Walstad was edged by first-year teammate, Hayley
Emerick, who led Trinity's unbelievable 1-2-3-4-5 finish on both boards
with two new SCAC records of her own. Both women went on to earn
All-America honors at the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships.
A number of
Trinity swimmers and divers stepped up and contributed to the Tiger
cause during the SCAC title meet. Every woman on the team scored
and Trinity had 14 student-athletes earn All-SCAC honors for the 2008
season. Joining Gatton, Walstad, and Emerick on the All-SCAC
roster were Sonya Karbach, Alison Gizinski, Lindsay Weigley, Lauren
Gann, Lindsay Martin, Renee Ulrich, Annia Parra, Jessica Schwartz,
Leigh-Anne Ladymon, Mary West and Kristen Zinser.
Led by seniors
Will Basinger and Ryan Cook, the Trinity Tigers Men's Swimming and
Diving teams enjoyed a splendid Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
meet in Dallas in 2008, giving repeat winner DePauw University a good
run for its money and again finishing in the SCAC runner-up spot by the
margin of 877.5 to 783.
Basinger won the
conference 200 butterfly for the second straight year, posting the
second best time in Trinity history (1:53.80) and earning an NCAA
Division III provisional standard. In the meantime, Cook closed
out his stellar diving career with wins on the 1-meter (512.00) and
3-meter (519.30) boards, qualifying for the NCAA's in the process.
There he again earned All-America honors.
First-year
Taylor Clark pulled off a pair of wins for the Tigers, taking the 500
freestyle (4:38.15) and setting an SCAC record in the 200. There,
his time of 1:41.05 eclipsed the former conference standard of 1:41.22
set by Trinity's Dylan Stentiford in 2001.
T.U. also
achieved relay gold on two occasions during the 2008 championship meet.
The Tiger foursome of Clark, Basinger, Grant Quimby and Graham Mullings
surprised the audience with a win in the 200 medley relay, recording
1:36.55. In addition, the 800 freestyle relay team of Mullings,
Basinger, Clark and Kyle Boe upset the favored DePauw entry by a
fingernail (6:58.70 to 6:58.80) in a race that had everyone in the house
on their feet yelling.
Trinity had ten
of their male swimmers and divers earn All-SCAC honors at the meet.
Joining Basinger, Cook, Clark, Quimby, Mullings, and Boe were Travis
Mills, Andrew Shane, Logan May and Ken Rogge.
Looking forward…
Swimming and diving
clearly has a very bright future at Trinity. With both indoor short
course and outdoor long course facilities, Trinity has outstanding
resources to help promote its program. The University is eager to
attract swimmers and divers who seek to experience the kinds of
academic, athletic, and social opportunities that are offered at a
university located in a city offering the charm and hospitality for
which San Antonio is known. Any athlete possessing the ability to
contribute to Trinity's winning tradition is encouraged to contact Coach
Ryan by returning the
Questionnaire posted on this web
site. |