Tigers dove into success at the SCAC championship tournament this weekend, claiming the title over six schools. The women’s team took first place by 72 points while the men’s team produced a 161 point win.
“We had taken some hard hits from injuries and the like; ultimately, it tested everyone, but I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome,” said sophomore Elliott Fleming, who earned all SCAC honors in the men’s 200 meter breaststroke, finishing with a time of 2:08.7.
Trinity divers fared well over the weekend. On the women’s side, senior Christine Peterson won the women’s one meter board, the 13th consecutive win for Trinity women in this event.
The men swept the three-meter competition, with first-year Daniel Valmassei earning gold — the fourth Tiger to do so in the event in five years — and junior Duncan MacAskill and first-year Anthony Liva just behind him, earning silver and bronze respectively.
“This season has been a lot more competitive for me; my teammates have been pushing me in practice and it has been paying off in our competitions,” MacAskill said.
Notable swimmers include sophomore Jacob Hurrell-Zitelman, who was named the SCAC swimmer of the meet for the second consecutive season. Senior Lindsay Hagmann won her third straight 100 free race with a time of 51.51 seconds, and sophomore Payton Green won the women’s 1,650 free with a time of 17:58.49.
Athletes from Austin College, Centenary College, Colorado College, McMurry University, University of the Ozarks and Southwestern University were also in attendance. Senior Charles Clark was impressed with the domination the Tigers demonstrated at the event.
“I think we won like 13 out of 19 events, and we won four of five relays for the guys,” said Clark, a senior and winner of the 200 meter backstroke at the tournament.
Clark was not the only one giving his teammates a lot of praise; the coaching staff was just as impressed by the team’s results over the weekend.
“The races that stood out to me the most were the top finals heats with Trinity caps in almost every lane. Watching teammates and training partners push each other during the race, score fractions of a second apart from each other, then standing next to each other on the podium — it can’t get much better than that,” said assistant coach Kimberly Jones.
The Tigers’ next competition is forecasted to be the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis on March 21. They are awaiting official invitations.
“I’m excited about the direction this team is going because we’re only going to get stronger as we continue the winning tradition,” Jones said.
Tiger divers will also be competing in the NCAA Zone Regional Tournament at Trinity on March 2–3.
