GARLAND, Texas – Trinity's 20th-ranked women's swimming & diving team nearly doubled its already considerable lead at the 2023 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships after Friday's action at the Garland ISD Natatorium.

The Tigers turned a 95-point margin heading into the day into a 199-point advantage heading into the final day of competition on Saturday. Trinity has scored 724 points for a comfortable lead over the 525 points scored by Colorado College in second place. Southwestern University has 463 points after three days of competition, while Austin College has scored 209 in fourth place. University of the Ozarks and McMurry University are just behind them with 204 points in fifth place, and Centenary College rounds out the field in seventh place with 141 points.

The day's action began with the swimming prelims this morning, followed by the 3-meter women's diving and the 1-meter men's diving events. Trinity finished the high board with three NCAA "B" Cut scores and two All-SCAC performances. The Tigers have won this event for 18 consecutive seasons, and both Alexis Radhakrishnan (Lexington, Ky. / Paul Laurence Dunbar) and Gabi Fulk (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Horizon) both earning All-SCAC honors for the second straight year. Radhakrishnan took the top honors this year with her score of 470.55, following her runner-up finish last season. Fulk is now a three-time All-SCAC honoree in this event, returning to match her second-place finish of 2021. Alexana Heinrich (Lubbock, Texas / Lubbock) scored 274.20 points to finish sixth and join her teammates with NCAA "B" Cut scores.

The swimming finals opened with a pair of All-SCAC performances and a huge win for the Trinity women.  Neely Burns (Phoenix, Ariz. / Thunderbird) won the 400 individual medley with an NCAA "B" Cut time of 4:21.76, shattering both the SCAC Championships and SCAC Open records, as well as setting a new Trinity record in the process. Erica Peterson (Lantana, Texas / Guyer) finished second with her time of 4:36.35, while Karin Petersen (Cibolo, Texas / Randolph) made it three Tigers in the top five with her time of 4:45.51 for fifth place.

Caroline Myers (Austin, Texas / Bowie) followed that performance by breaking a Trinity record of her own in the 100 butterfly. Myers finished second in 56.40 for her third All-SCAC honor in the 100 fly and her second runner-up finish (2021). The Tigers also had four swimmers in the championship finals of the event.

The 200 freestyle came next and the result was the 12th consecutive victory for a Trinity swimmer. Emma Hagan (Overland Park, Kan. / Olathe East) won for the third straight year with a time of 52.60 that was just over a second from breaking the Tiger record. Audrey Jacobson (Dallas, Texas / School for the Talent and Gifted) was the runner-up with a time of 1:52.93.

Four Tiger swimmers competed in the championship finals of the 100 breaststroke and Josie Gillentine (Heath, Texas / Rockwall Heath) led the way with her school-record-breaking time of 1:04.37 to win the event. Lindsay McKinney (Victoria, Texas / Saint Joseph) was third with an All-SCAC time of 1:08.44 and Trinity held four of the top six spots in the race.

Julie Schwam (Portland, Ore. / David Douglas) was second in the 100 backstroke to earn All-SCAC honors with a time of 57.25, and Juliana Wiehrdt (Waco, Texas / Midway) was fourth with her time of 58.06 that was just 0.01 from third place.

The night ended with the 400 medley relay and the Tigers won for the fourth consecutive season. Trinity won the consolation finals behind a time of 3:55.84 from Wiehrdt, Gillentine, Elizabeth Molique (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Saguaro), and Rachel Brown (Flower Mound, Texas / Marcus). The finals were an even bigger success as the Trinity team of Schwam, Burns, Myers, and Hagan broke the SCAC Meet record and the Trinity record with a time of 3:49.23 that also earned the team an NCAA "B" Cut.

Up Next
The SCAC Championships concludes with the final day of the meet on Saturday. Swimming prelims begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by another round of diving at 12:30 p.m. The swim finals are set for a 6:00 p.m. start, after which the team champions and individual awards will be announced.

Following the prelims session, the 3-meter men's diving event will be joined by the women's 1-meter competition. Swimming finals begin with the 1,650 freestyle, followed by the 200 backstroke, the 100 free, the 200 breaststroke, and the 200 butterfly. After a break, the 400 free relay will be the final event of the four-day meet.