CHICAGO/GENESEO, N.Y. – The 20th ranked Tiger women had 9 representees at the D3 Shootout hosted by University of Chicago, a highly competitive swim meet that displays what the women have to show for their upcoming mid-season meet, the Tiger Invite. The rest of the women's team took on SUNY Geneseo and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in a very competitive meet, where they came up short against SUNY Geneseo, but beat RIT.

To start out day two in Chicago, the women opened with the 400 Medley relay with first-year Kaitlyn Phan (Austin, Texas / Westlake), senior captain Neely Burns (Phoenix, Ariz. / Thunderbird), and juniors Amy Benson (Newmarket, N.H. / Phillips Exeter Academy) and Allison Ortiz (Houston, Texas / Stratford) who went a 3:53.61 to get 7th place and the number 9 time in Trinity top 10 performances. 

Next, our first-years showed out in the 500 freestyle, with Phan and Sophia Mandanis (Wichita, Kan. / Andover) getting 10th and 19th place, with times of 5:23.97 and 5:26.43, respectively.
The 100 butterfly followed where first-year Ava Easley (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) got 12th place with a time of 57.83 that puts her at number 10 in the top ten times, and Ortiz got 8th place with a time of 58.20.

Burns was joined by sophomore Emme Penry (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Regis Jesuit) in the 200 breaststroke where they got 3rd and 14th respectively. Emme's time of 2:24.75 puts her at number 5 in the top ten times, where she went her fastest time in the 200 breast in her collegiate career so far. Burns' time of 2:21.51 was less than three seconds off the winning time.

The next event was a 400 free mixed relay where first-year Kaya Alvegaard-Struble (Kansas City, Mo. / Pembroke Hill), and Penry were joined by first year Theodore Ho (Sugar Land, Texas / Clements) and senior John Key (El Paso, Texas / Franklin) to get 7th place. 

Representing the Tigers well in diving on 3-meter was first-year Juliet Hood (Wexford, Pa. / North Allegheny), where she finished with a final score of 242.40 and secured a solid 4th-place finish.

After the diving break, swimming started up again with the 200 backstroke where Alvegaard-Sruble had an amazing performance, dropping 3 seconds and going a lifetime best with a 2:03.98 that is also the number 4 spot in Trinity's top 10 times for the 200 backstroke. Joining her in the top 10 times for 200 backstroke is Phan who took the number 6 spot with a time of 2:05.05, setting a season best by 6 seconds.

Next up, Benson and Easley took on the 100 freestyle where they got 6th and 15th respectively, showing up for this super close, sprint race, where Benson went a time of 52.72 and Easley (tied) with a time of 53.10. And for the last individual race of the evening, Burns and Mandanis took on the 200 Individual Medley (IM) where they got 3rd and 18th with times of 2:06.08 and 2:15.67, respectively. 
To close out the night in Chicago, Benson, Easley, Alvegaard-Struble, and Ortiz closed out with the 200 freestyle relay where they notched a final time of 1:36.19 that was good for 6th place against some really fast teams. 

"The Tigers continued to compete with an incredibly deep field today," revealed Head Coach Cathleen Pruden. "We were holding on to sixth by only one point heading into diving. Swim after swim in the back half of the day delivered and the women separated themselves a bit. They rode the momentum from one swim to the next and took care of themselves and their performances. Some rest in two weeks is going to do a lot of good for us. I'm proud of this performance and eager to see how much further we can go!"

The meet in New York began with the 200 medley relay that featured senior Jules Wiehrdt (Waco, Texas / Midway), sophomore Anna Stouffer (St. Louis, Mo. / Clayton), senior Erica Peterson (Lantana, Texas / Guyer) and sophomore Diane Park (Beaverton, Ore. / Mountainside), who finished 3rd with a time of 1:56.50.

The first individual event of the morning was the 1000 freestyle, where senior Erin Morie (St. Louis, Mo. / Cor Jesu Academy) dominated in the pool, getting 2nd with a time of 10:43.01, joined by fellow senior Renee Trombley (Fort Collins, Colo. / Fossil Ridge) who got 5th with a time of 11:41.70. 

Leading the group of Tigers in the 200 freestyle was senior Audrey Jacobson (Dallas, Texas / School for the Talent and Gifted), who got 2nd with a time of 1:59.18. Joining her were sophomores Sienna Nordquist (Albuquerque, N.M. / Hope Christian) and Park. Nordquist was 3rd with a time of 2:00.03 and Park finished 6th with a time of 2:09.48.

Wiehrdt and Trombley represented the Tigers with two solid swims in the 100 backstroke. Wiehrdt got 2nd with a season-best time of 1:00.97. Trombley followed soon after in 8th place with a time of 1:08.10. Stouffer raced in the 100 breastroke for the Tigers, finishing 5th with a time of 1:13.79.

In the 200 butterfly, first-year Addie Domilise (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) put up a great fight getting 2nd place by just 0.24 seconds with a season-best time of 2:14.10. Peterson joined her teammate in the race and secured 4th place with a time of 2:19.56.

Wiehrdt and Nordquist finished 4th and 5th in the 50 free, with times of 25.51 and 25.75, showing out for some quick races where it came all down to the touch.

Despite a quick turnaround from the 50 free, Nordquist was back at it for another sprint event in the 100 freestyle, finishing 4th with a season-best time of 55.81. She was joined by Stouffer who came in right behind her in 5th place with a time of 56.07, and they were both followed closely by Jacobson who got 7th with a time of 57.24.

In the 200 backstroke, Peterson got 4th with a time of 2:16.86 and Trombley got 6th with a time of 2:23.93. The 500 freestyle followed directly after the 200 back, which was another quick turnaround for Jacobson. That didn't stop her from placing 2nd with a time of 5:20.36. Park also raced in the 500 free and wrapped up 6th place with a time of 5:41.72.

Morie and Domilise snagged 2nd and 3rd with times of 1:00.60 and 1:00.99 in a hard-fourth 100 butterfly race that saw Domilise touch just 0.30 seconds from the winning time. Morie and Domilise were back at it immediately, posting two more solid results in the 200 IM. Morie was third in 2:19.88 and Domilise finished fourth with a time of 2:22.18.

Closing out the Tri-meet with the 200 freestyle relay, the Trinity "A" relay that consisted of Peterson, Wiehrdt, Stouffer and Nordquist got 2nd with a time of 1:42.50, while the Trinity "B" relay team of Domilise, Morie, Park, and Trombley got 5th with a time of 1:49.51. 

A trio of Tiger divers also competed in the Tri-meet. Sophomore Charlotte Brod (St. Louis, Mo. / Parkway North), and first-years Aubrey DeLeon (Corpus Christi, Texas / King) and Andie Torres (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) finished 5th, 6th, and 7th on both boards. Brod led the way with a score of 199.95 on the 1-meter board and a score of 192.30 on the high board. DeLeon finished with a 184.50 in the 1-meter competition, while Torres scored 163.13 in the event. The 3-meter contest between the two teammates was much closer, as DeLeon (175.80) edged Torres (171.90).

"With part of the team at D3 Shootout and a few women studying abroad, we had a small group who put up a mighty fight in New York," exclaimed Coach Pruden. "It is great to see so many season bests today. We'll work to apply what we learned today to our racing at Tiger Invite in two weeks!"

NEXT UP
To close out the fall semester Trinity is set to host their annual Tiger Invite from November 21-23 at the Alamo Heights Natatorium in a prelims and finals set swim meet, so there will be plenty of opportunities to come cheer on the Tigers as they aim to win another invite before the Thanksgiving break.