SAN ANTONIO – The 16th-ranked Tiger women's swimming & diving team continued to distance itself from the competition after the second day of the Tiger Invite on Saturday.
Trinity's women topped 900 points (909.5) and hold a commanding lead over second-place Colorado State University-Pueblo's 425 points. Southwestern University (TX) is third with 318.5 points, followed by Loyola University-New Orleans (LA) in fourth with 288 points, and University of Texas-Permian Basin in fifth with 167 points scored in two days.
After another strong morning in swimming prelims, the final diving competition began with
Brooklyn Fuscone (Hoffman Estates, Ill. / Hoffman Estates) taking third for the second day, but this time in the 3-meter event with a score of 243.90. She also won the 11-dive competition with a score of 398.60.
The swim finals began with Trinity taking three of the top four spots in the 200 medley relay race. The team of
Audrey Jacobson (Dallas, Texas / School for the Talent and Gifted),
Neely Burns (Phoenix, Ariz. / Thunderbird),
Allison Ortiz (Houston, Texas / Stratford), and
Amy Benson (Newmarket, N.H. / Phillips Exeter Academy) finished in 1:46.34 to move into seventh on Trinity's all-time list. Just behind their teammates was the silver medal team that finished in a time of 1:47.54 and was just outside the top 10 all-time at Trinity. That team was made up of
Jules Wiehrdt (Waco, Texas / Midway),
Marian Penry (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Regis Jesuit),
Rachel Brown (Flower Mound, Texas / Marcus), and
Julia Carter (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs). Joining the party with a fourth-place finish were
Emily Baggett (Kingwood, Texas / Kingwood),
Sid McCullough (Centennial, Colo. / Cherry Creek),
Erin Morie (St. Louis, Mo. / Cor Jesu Academy), and
Sienna Nordquist (Albuquerque, N.M. / Hope Christian) with a time of 1:51.82 that earned them fourth place and finished off a dominating start to the second night of swim finals.
Ellie Devens (Houston, Texas / Tomball) was Trinity's top finisher in the 400 individual medley, finishing fourth with a time of 4:45.65. The Tigers came back strong in the 100 butterfly by featuring four swimmers in the finals. Ortiz won the race with a time of 56.60 seconds that moves her up to third on the all-time list, followed by Burns in second place with a time of 57.86 seconds to puts her eighth in school history.
Erica Peterson (Lantana, Texas / Guyer) was fourth with her time of 58.97, which was good for 10th in school history coming into today's action. Brown rounded out Trinity's finalists, finishing seventh in a time of 59.34 seconds.
The Tigers were even more impressive in the 200 freestyle, taking five of the top six slots. Benson won the race with a time of 1:52.52 that nearly broke her personal best that is already fifth in school history. Jacobson was second in 1:54.23, followed by Carter in third with a time of 1:54.69. Nordquist came in fifth with a time of 1:57.27, finishing just ahead of
Renee Trombley (Fort Collins, Colo. / Fossil Ridge) and her time of 1:57.67 in sixth place.
Burns was less than a second from her personal best time in the 100 breaststroke, which is already third in school history. She won the race in 1:05.03 to lead the Tigers in the event. McCullough finished in 1:07.05 for third place tonight, which is now 10th in school history. Three more Tigers raced in the finals for a total of five, with Penry finishing fifth (1:07.83),
Anna Stouffer (St. Louis, Mo. / Clayton) finishing sixth (1:08.12), and
Lindsay McKinney (Victoria, Texas / Saint Joseph) taking eighth in 1:09.03. The final event of the evening saw Benson move to seventh on Trinity's all-time list in the 100 backstroke, finishing third with a time of 58.13 seconds. Wiehrdt was fourth with her time of 58.75 seconds.
Coach Speak
"Tonight was another night of Tiger depth on display," said Head Coach
Cathleen Pruden. "There was some notable improvement from this night last year for several individuals. We have one more big day left tomorrow and I'm eager to see how the Tigers handle it!"
Up Next
Trinity will complete the final day at the Tiger Invite on Sunday, as both teams look to finish off the team victories. With diving finishing its competition today, just the swim teams will compete in prelims at 10:00 a.m., and then finals at 5:00 p.m.
