Photo by Genevieve Humphreys
On Oct. 18, the Trinity dive team traveled to Gambier, Ohio, where they competed in the Kenyon Relays held at Kenyon College. Meanwhile, Tiger swim traveled to the University of Texas of the Permian Basin to participate in their first full meet of the winter season.
In Friday’s events, junior diver Anthony Liva competed on the one-meter board and finished in fifth place with a score of 245.00. On the three-meter board, sophomore Maren Merwarth also earned fifth-place with her score of 227.75, and sophomore Katarina Partalas placed sixth at 224.55. First-year Gabi Fulk was Trinity’s top finisher on the three-meter board, receiving a score of 243.75 to earn third place.
“I think what contributed to my score was that some of the dives I was doing had a slightly higher degree of difficulty than some of the other divers, which increased my overall score. I also felt pretty prepared for the meet because of Coach Stan [Randall’s] practice schedule, which we’ve been doing to get back into the season,” Fulk said.
The following day, the Trinity women divers swept second through fourth place on the one-meter board. Partalas led the Trinity team with a second-place finish after earning a score of 224.4.
“I had a rough meet on three-meter the first day, due to my previous shoulder injury. I got through this because my team was there to support me. The next day I felt more confident and less nervous,” Partalas said. “My team and better injury prevention planning caused me to feel confident and ready, which helped me keep a good mindset through the meet and perform the way I trained for.”
Fulk finished third with her score of 213.45, while Merwarth’s score of 207.15 earned a fourth-place finish. In the men’s competition, Liva was the fifth-place finisher in the three-meter competition with a score of 206.7 points.
“The dive team did great at the first meet. We supported each other and dove to the best of our ability. Not only did the meet go well, but we had fun while doing it, and that’s the most important thing for the team in order to keep our spirits up,” Partalas said.
In Odessa, both the men’s and women’s swimming teams defeated the UT Permian Basin teams, with the men winning by a score of 167-120, while the women won 138-115. Additionally, the women’s team won eight events, while the men’s team won 10 events and set a new school record in the 400-yard medley relay.
Junior Mabel Fowler earned two individual wins in the 200-yard free and 200-yard back events, and she was the lead-off in both the 400-yard medley and 400-yard free relay teams, which also earned first place. Sophomore Spencer Steward won the 100-yard and 200-yard breast events, and the 400-yard individual medley. He also raced in the first-place 400-yard medley relay team.
Sophomore Daniel Sarman was the lead-off in both relay victories for the Tiger men’s team, as well as the first-place finisher in the 100-yard and 200-yard back races. He is now seventh in school history with his time of 52.54 seconds in the 100-yard back. First-year Caroline Westholder’s wins in the 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard individual medley earned her the title of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Women’s Swimmer of the Week.
“I had been feeling good in the water all week in backstroke, and I’m glad it paid off. Our next meet is at tri-meet versus Springfield and MIT. I don’t have any specific goals in my events other to make Nationals individually, and help the team make Nationals in a relay,” Sarman said.
Both the swimming and diving teams will compete again on Saturday, Nov. 9, against Springfield College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“My goal is to perform at that meet and every single one forward confidently and as consistent as possible. This consistency will come from practicing in order to avoid any mess-ups or surprises at future meets,” Partalas said.
