Trinity University vs. University of New Orleans

Last night our men and women competed in a dual meet with the University of New Orleans, an NCAA Division I program that is currently "transitioning" to Division III. Our men outscored the Pirates 135 to 75, and our women's team topped our visitors 128 to 66.

We put in a very solid week of training after last weekend’s Florida travel trip, so we were plenty tired going into this meet. Despite that, many of our swims were faster than our Rollins/Tampa ventures.

Andrew Battles won three freestyle races (1:48.43 in the 200, 4:53.90 in the 500, and 10:04.03 in the 1000) to lead the way for our home boys. Alex Miranda captured a win in the 200IM (2:02.74) and swam a good “exhibition” time in the 1000 (10:08.86). Team co-captain Matt Wey posted an excellent early season time in the 200 freestyle (1:50.20) and won the 100 breaststroke (1:03.91). Sean Fronczak took the 100 backstroke (56.01), as Trinity won the majority of the individual events contested. Lucas Belury, Aaron Shaver, CJ Robinson, Zach Dielmann, and rookie Michael Patton all swam well while contributing to Trinity‘s win. In addition, Andrew Snead and Matt Hawley showed good form on both boards in a diving match-up with the University of Incarnate word.

On the women’s side, freshman Melanie Gustafson had another weekend of good racing. Her wins were in the 200 free (2:03.82) and the 1000 free (11:09.53) we all but expected after completing a week of impressive training sessions. Morgan Briggs was a double event winner, taking the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. Jennifer Ince has been showing more speed in practice (good news after knee surgery in May) and did well in her 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke races. Ana Price’s 55.77 in the 100 freestyle was faster than any of her early season swims in the fall of 2009, so she’s off to a great start for our current campaign. Kristen Zinser, Mary Price, Marisa Olmo, Leslie Butts, and Meghan Varner all followed a hard week of training with good competitive swims against the ladies from UNO. NCAA 3-Meter diving champion Hayley Emerick topped the field in the 1-Meter event, while sophomore Ruth Hahn showed she has plenty of talent by outscoring TU’s All-American on the 3-Meter board (231.55 to 226.70). Coach Stan Randall’s diving team is deep and talented, as proven by the performances delivered by Gabriella Caglieris, Rebecca Parrish, and Kristin Nordstrom.

We had four women out of our Friday night line-up for one reason or another, so we anticipate putting a stronger team in the water two weeks from now when we go at it with the University of Texas at Permian Basin here in San Antonio.

-Coach Ryan

Florida Trip

Wow! We just finished a very busy weekend of traveling and competing in central Florida. Our Tiger team flew over to Orlando on the 14th, a day before TU's Friday "Fall Break" holiday. We got an afternoon training session in at Rollins College, and had a relaxing evening hanging out at a Courtyard by Marriot. The next day and a half was anything but relaxing!

Friday morning we swam a long warm-up session at the Lake Highland Prep's beautiful long course outdoor pool. We followed that with a late afternoon meet with Rollins, posting plenty of good performances on the way to two team wins (TU's men outscored Rollins 120 to 84 and the Tiger women took their meet by a score of 115 to 89).

After getting nipped in a tight 200 medley relay race to open the meet, Trinity ran off a string of six straight wins to take control of the meet early. Melanie Gustafson (1000 freestyle 11:00.76), Meghan Varner (200 freestyle 2:01.99), Ana Price (50 freestyle 25.48), Morgan Briggs (200 IM 2:18.31), and Leslie Butts (100 butterfly 1:00.72) combined to win enough races to assure the Tigers of a win in Orlando. While Rollins then won the 100 backstroke and the 500 freestyle, Morgan Briggs came back to win the 100 breaststroke and the TU 200 freestyle relay stepped up to win a tight race in the meet's final event. It was a good evening for Trinity's women, who will be seeking an 8th consecutive SCAC team title in Houston this coming February.

Our men opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay (Sean Fronczak, Matt Wey, Zach Dielmann, and Spencer Bard taking honors), giving TU a lead we would never surrender over the course of the evening. Andrew Battles and Lucas Belury then posted solid times while finishing 1 - 2 in the 1000 (10:03.27 and 10:08.73), reinforcing the winning tradition that Trinity has established in the men's distance swimming. While Rollins won the 200, TU then reeled off 3 straight wins to pretty much put the meet away. Aaron Shaver took the 50 with a 22.54, Alex Miranda won the 200 IM clocking a 2:02.61, and Spencer Bard captured the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.83. Miranda and Belury later went 1 - 2 in the 500 (4:52.96 and 4:56.25) and Matt Wey captured the 100 breaststroke (1:03.67) to put the frosting on the cake for the Tigers. A win on the road is always nice!

That same night we aimed our bus toward Florida's west coast and made the drive to Tampa. Late to bed and early to rise makes the team healthy, wealthy, and tired. We weren't truly ready for a meet with one of the NCAA's best Division II programs. Our swimmers were positive about the challenge, but we were weary and our performances reflected that fact. Melanie Gustafson's 2:12.57 was the winning time in the 200 butterfly and was Trinity's best swim of the day. Melanie recorded a win in the 500 freestyle, as well, but she was just about as fast on her way to the 1000 against Rollins the previous night. Mary Price (100 butterfly) and Lisa Tucci (400 IM) also posted wins, and Jennifer Ince finished runner-up in both backstrokes.

Our men fared a little better against the Spartan men than our women did versus their counterparts. Alex Miranda won the 200 butterfly (1:59.68) and the 400 IM (4:21.55), both good early season times. Andrew Battles took the 500 (4:59.86) and led TU to a 1 - 2 - 3 finish in the 1000 (10:21.78) - just edging first-year Arthur Daigh's 10:23.93 (JJ Lubinski was third overall). Sean Fronczak competed well in the backstrokes, winning the 200 with a 2:02.27, and both Matt Wey and Aaron Shaver showed they are preparing for a good season by virtue of their competitiveness on a day when most of their team-mates were looking tired. Two meets within a 20 hour stretch with a long bus ride will do that to you. Builds character, right??

We'll need a little of that (character), as well as speed and toughness if we are going to be ready to swim fast at the end of the season. We have a meet next weekend at home (University of New Orleans), and then three in a row come November. Hopefully, we'll post some good times in Dallas on the weekend before Thanksgiving. Time flies, so we'll get to that point in the season quicker than you might think. Go Tigers!!!

-Coach Ryan

Images:

#1 SR Sara Griffis warming up at Lake Highland Prep

#2 JR Andrew Battles after the meet with Rollins

#3 FYs Morgan Briggs, Meghan Varner, Marisa Olmo, Melanie Gustafson, & Megan O'Rell from l to r
#4 Members of TMSD

#5 Members of TWSD

St. Croix Coral Reef 5 Mile Open Water Race

Trinity seniors Mary West, Sara Griffis, Kristen Zinser, and Leigh-Anne Ladymon are back on campus today after spending a long weekend in St. Croix, where they each competed yesterday in one of two spectacular open water races held annually to in order to fundraise for The Nature Conservancy’s program to protect the coral reefs of the Virgin Islands.

The TU women traveled to St. Croix with assistant coach Leta Gatton. The day before the races, our travel party enjoyed a snorkeling venture at Buck Island’s National Coral Reef Underwater Park – a truly unique experience that they’ll all remember as one of the highlights to their Trinity swimming experience.

Mary and Sara competed in the Coral Reef 5-mile Open Water Race. Mary was the first swimmer out of the ocean at the Buccaneer Hotel’s Mermaid Beach, but lost a short dash to the finish line to Meredith Jones of Pennsylvania. Mary recorded a time of 2:15.11. Sara finished 9^th overall with a time of 2:28.28. In the Coral Reef 2-Mile Open Water Race, Kristen Zinser finished 2^nd overall with a time of 58:17 and Leigh-Anne Ladymon placed 4^th overall with a time of 1:03.02.

-Coach Ryan

Images:

#1 Celebrating some great TU finishes with Misty Hyman. From l to r: Kristen Zinser, Sara Griffis, Misty Hyman, Leigh-Anne Ladymon, Leta Gatton, and Mary West

#2 Just before snorkeling off Buck Island.

#3 Buck Island, the only underwater national park in the US. Definitely a must see.

#4 Sara Griffis and Mary West, representing TU in the 5 mile race.

For more information on the race visit: www.swimrace.com

ASA Collegiate National 5K Open Water Championships

Today we took the team up to Lake Travis, just a bit to the west of Austin, to compete in the ASA Collegiate National 5K Open Water Championships. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, and the water was relatively calm and not cold (as it was in November of 2009). Perfect conditions for an open water competition!

Our women finished 3^rd overall, behind Texas A&M and Rice. Rita Medrano of Texas A&M was the event winner. Leading the way for our Tiger team was Melanie Gustafson, posting a time of 1:09:36.47. Trinity’s next four fastest women were Meghan Varner, Morgan Briggs, Marisa Olmo, and Lisa Tucci. All were happy to finish and relieved to have had no encounters with any of the unusual Lake Travis ‘critters’ such as piranhas, barracudas, water moccasins, etc. (Just kidding)

The men’s race was a cake-walk, as Trinity was the only men’s team signed up for the 5K venture. Alex Miranda captured the men’s win, clocking 1:06:12.93. He was followed by Arthur Daigh and Sean Fronczak.

ASA founder and race director Dr. Keith Bell is hopeful that more schools will discover this race and add it to their schedule. It’s a great way to start the "indoor" season and provides all participants with an opportunity to try something “out of the box” (make that “pool”). It’s cool!

-Coach Ryan

Images:

#1 The start of the 5K

#2 The Trinity Women's team before the start of the 5K

#3 The top 3 male finishers: Arthur Daigh (2nd), Alex Miranda (1st), and Sean Fronczak (3rd)

Marisa Olmo, Mary Price, and Lisa Tucci test out the waters before beginning the race.

The team, after finishing the 5K!

FY Morgan Briggs...The 5K didn't stand a chance. She looks like she could take on another!

FY Meghan Varner commenting about how she kept swimming, but the little orange buoy never got any closer!

The men's team, looking a little tired after the 5K.

FY Megan O'Rell and SO Michael Patton after completing their first open water swim.

Trinity men's swimming team: the first place team on the men's side!