GARLAND, Texas – The 17th-ranked Tiger women's swimming & diving team has increased its lead to nearly 100 points after the second day of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships at the Garland ISD Natatorium.
Trinity has scored 353 points compared to just 258 points for Colorado College. Southwestern University is battling for that second spot with 254 points, while Austin College has scored 131 points to take over fourth place. McMurry University (112), University of the Ozarks (104), and Centenary (97) round out the women's standings after two days.
The 200 free relay kicked off the evening session of swimming, which began with Trinity's "B" relay team winning the consolation final with a time of 1:37.23 that moves into the top 10 in school history.
Kylee Hutchinson (Corpus Christi, Texas / Flower Bluff),
Josie Gillentine (Heath, Texas / Rockwall Heath),
Neely Burns (Phoenix, Ariz. / Thunderbird), and
Elizabeth Molique (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Saguaro) got the night started in impressive fashion.
The championship final was also a big win for Trinity, marking the seventh time in the last nine conference meets that the Tigers won this event.
Caroline Myers (Austin, Texas / Bowie),
Juliana Wiehrdt (Waco, Texas / Midway),
Rachel Brown (Flower Mound, Texas / Marcus), and
Emma Hagan (Overland Park, Kan. / Olathe East) finished in 1:34.86 for the third-fastest time in school history, which was also an NCAA "B" cut time.
The 500 freestyle came next and
Audrey Jacobson (Dallas, Texas / School for the Talent and Gifted) earned All-SCAC honors with her runner-up time of 5:03.97. That time also moved her up from sixth to fourth on Trinity's all-time performance list.
The next event featured a pair of All-SCAC performances for the Tiger women, including a new SCAC record and another NCAA "B" cut. Burns ensured Trinity's fourth straight win in this event by finishing in 2:03.48. Gillentine earned All-SCAC honors with a career-best time of 2:08.29 to improve her fourth-place spot in Trinity's record book.
Erica Peterson (Lantana, Texas / Guyer) also eclipsed her personal best and moved into seventh in school history with her time of 2:11.30.
The 50 free marked the end of the night for the SCAC Championships and it was another outstanding result for the Tigers. Hagan earned an NCAA "B" cut with a time of 23.57 seconds that delivered Trinity's first win in the event since 2018. Trinity had three other swimmers move into the top 10 in school history with their performances. Myers touched the pad in 23.78 and is fifth in school history, while Wiehrdt finished in 24.21 to move into seventh all-time at Trinity. Hutchinson won the consolation final in 23.30 and is now tied for eighth in school history.
Coach Speak
"The B relay had a jaw-dropping performance to get the evening rolling on the right foot," said Head Coach
Cathleen Pruden. "For the most part we improved from the morning, which was all we could ask for. Tomorrow is a stronger day for us and I'm excited to see what the Tigers can do, and to get the divers in the mix as well!"
Up Next
Friday will be a busy day at the pool as both teams resume at 10:30 in the morning with prelims for five more individual events. The women's 3-meter and men's 1-meter events will begin at 12:30 p.m. to introduce the diving competition. The SCAC will recognize the senior classes from across the conference at 5:45 p.m., followed by the evening's swim session that includes five individual events. The 400 medley relay will close out the third day of the meet.
