St. Croix, US Virgin Islands – Trinity Senior Renee Ulrich (Albuquerque, NM) provided Coach John Ryan with a pleasant surprise this past Sunday, October 22, as she swept to an impressive win in the women's division of the 17th Annual St. Croix Five-Mile Coral Reef Swim.

Ulrich, a backstroke specialist who will also compete as a sprint freestyler at the SCAC Championships in February, showed her ability to handle a long distance open water race while out-distancing the field on her way to a time of 2:07.03 (that's 2 hours, seven minutes, and 3 seconds).

“She was awesome!” observed Ryan, who was exuberant about Ulrich's rather unexpected accomplishment.

Alex Kostich of Los Angeles, CA, a former USA team member and Pan American Games 1500 meter freestyle champion, won the men's division of the 2009 competition.

This is the second time that Trinity has been represented at this acclaimed annual open water event. The starting point is Buck Island, home to a beautiful coral reef that is the country's only underwater national park. Competitors swim south from the coral reef for two miles to the north shore of St. Croix, where they then navigate in a westerly direction toward the town of Christianstead. Wind, ocean currents, and constant wave action create additional challenges to that posed by the total distance that race entrants must negotiate. The ability to swim a relatively straight course (there are no lane lines on the bottom of the ocean) is critical to achieving the fastest possible time.

Sonni Szymczak of Silver Springs, Maryland, finished seventh in the women's division with a time of 2:26:29 while Bryden Banister was 12th, clocking in with a time of 2:38.52.

Trinity also had three members of the men's varsity team finish in the top 10 of the men's division. Sean Benton and Graham Mullings, both from Houston, Texas, finished seventh and eigth with times of 2.12:01 and 2.13:08, respectively, while Spencer Hill of Bend, Oregon was ninth with a 2.13:15.

Trinity will compete in one more open water event this fall before commencing with its traditional short course dual and invitational meet season. The team will travel to Lake Travis on November seventh to participate in the ASA Five Kilometer Open Water National Collegiate Championship. Last year, Rice University won the women's team title and Trinity captured the men's crown. The following Saturday, the Tigers will compete with Southwestern University in a dual meet at the Bell Athletic Center's Hixon Natatorium.