Swimming and Diving: Women’s swimming and diving, ranked no. 17 in the nation among Division III teams, won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship for the 22nd time in a row on Feb. 15 by a substantial margin. The Tigers scored 300 points more than Colorado College, the second place finisher. The men’s team, however, came up just short of the conference title, barely placing second behind Colorado College.
Notable competitors in the championships were Neely Burns, Audrey Jacobson, Allison Ortiz, Amy Benson, Julia Carter, Rachel Brown, Erin Morie, Will Walker, Nate Perez, John Key, Luke Fender, Enzo Fiorese and Trace Briones. All of these athletes earned or contributed to first place finishes in multiple events. Benson and Burns in particular were massive parts of the women’s team’s championship win, contributing to eight and seven first place finishes respectively in either relays or individual events. On the men’s side, first-year Luke Fender performed notably well, contributing to five first place finishes.
The Tigers will compete in the DIII national championships in March.
Tennis: No. 13 women’s tennis traveled to Lexington, Va. over Valentine’s Day weekend to participate in Washington and Lee University’s Groundhog Palooza. The Tigers fell 3-4 to the hosting no. 10 Washington and Lee on Feb. 14. However, they were able to bounce back over the next two days, as they dispatched no. 15 Christopher Newport University 5-2 and no. 7 Johns Hopkins University 3-4 on Feb. 16.
As for no. 11 men’s tennis, they went on their own road trip, soundly defeating Concordia University 7-0 in Austin on Feb. 15 before falling 6-1 in an exhibition against Division I opponent Abilene Christian University on Feb. 16.
This weekend, men’s tennis will be heading to St. Peter, MN, where they will participate in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor National Championships. They will play Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the first round on Feb. 21 at 12 p.m., and there will be both winners’ and losers’ bracket matches on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23.
Track and Field: The Tigers traveled to Lubbock, Texas from Feb. 14 to Feb. 15 to participate in the Jarvis Scott Open, hosted by Texas Tech University. They competed against schools from across the NCAA, including Division I opponents.
Notable Finishes:
Sebastian Langer (senior): 4th place (2:30.55), men’s 1000 meters
Emerson Voldan (first-year): 5th place (3:02.10), women’s 1000 meters
Cali Good (sophomore): 9th place (18:55.21), women’s 5000 meters
Joy Areola (senior): 13th place (11.97 meters), women’s triple jump
Track will have meets on March 1 at Southwestern University and on March 8 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. After that, they will proceed to the NCAA DIII Indoor National Championships at Golisano Training Center in Rochester, N.Y.
Golf: Men’s and women’s golf, the latter being ranked no. 23 in the nation in preseason DIII polls, will return to action in Houston, Texas on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 for the Space City Classic at the University of St. Thomas.
In the fall, women’s golf placed first at the Alamo City Classic, with men’s golf placing second behind the University of La Verne.
