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Men's Swimming and Diving Recap
One- Meter Diving
Trinity seemed to be on a par with the SCAC's other diving teams at last year's conference meet - providing Coach Stan Randall with a good starting point for this season. Sophomore Kevin Martin was 3rd on the 2009 1-meter with a very respectable 435.70 points, and competed consistently throughout the competition with Centre's Hunter Hayes (the 2009 champion on both boards). Martin will again lead the Tigers and will contend for conference top honors in 2010. Austin Whelan, who graduated last spring, was 5th overall last winter - his skill and his leadership will be missed. Rounding out TU's scoring at the Nashville conference championship meet were Andrew Snead (6th), Jack Foreman (11th), and Matt Hawley (12th). All will be improved by the time the team gets to Louisville in February.
500 Freestyle
This race has become a point of pride for the Trinity men's
swimming program - the Tigers have won every 500
freestyle title ever contested in the SCAC's 11 year championship
meet history. The streak stayed intact in 2009, as two T.U.
first-year swimmers accomplished a 1-2 sweep of the event.
Alex Miranda edged Andrew Battles (4:37.66 to 4:38.01), setting new
school and conference records in the process. What was
especially impressive about the feat is the fact that neither were
wearing high-tech suits of any kind - good old
Speedo Aquablade jammers worked just fine for both rookies. They're
back and Trinity looks to be a little deeper in this event in 2010,
as two first-years (Michael Brew and Zack Claar) join sophomore
Nick Lilly on the middle distance event roster.
200 IM
Josh Baugh of DePauw broke former T.U. swimmer Dan Petersen's 200 IM conference record by 12/100's of a second (recording a 1:54.54) in the 2009 Championship finals. Not a single conference graduating senior made top 16 in this event in Nashville, so the entire field of scoring swimmers will return for another go at glory in 2010. Sophomore Matt Wey, junior Ken Rogge, and senior Spencer Hill all scored in last year's consolation final. They will be shooting to move up in 2010, and will be joined by first-year Sean Fronczak of Sunnyvale, CA. The rookie Tiger is eager to contribute and has the talent to do so right away. He'll be joined by Audel Mehrinfar, who is also hoping to help Trinity to make a run at upsetting DePauw's bid for another SCAC team title.
50 Freestyle
Trinity saw impressive big final swims from senior Graham Mullings and sophomore Aaron Shaver at the 2009 conference meet - a meaningful accomplishment for both. Trinity put five swimmers in the consolation final (Zach Dielmann, Andrew Shane, Sean Benton, Drew Cauthorn, and JJ Lubinski), displaying the kind of sprint depth not demonstrated by the Tigers in a long, long time. That, too, was a welcome accomplishment. Those seven, plus Eric Bassett and Hunter Banister will be joined by first-year C.J. Robison in the battle for sprint relay spots. The Tigers should be fast and will again score some much-needed points in the 50 when they get to Louisville.
400 IM
Trinity first-year Alex Miranda finished second to DePauw's Charlie Boehme in the long IM a year ago. He was T.U.'s only scoring athlete in the sport's toughest all-around test of swimming skills, while our Indiana rival went 1-3 in the big final and had one consolation finalist, as well. The Texas Tigers could use some help here, but it seems unlikely that anyone in the new class of first-year swimmers is ready to step up and make a difference in this event. On the other hand, maybe someone will realize that this is one way to challenge DePauw's knack for scoring points in events where the conference's lack of competitive depth has been most pronounced. The 400 IM is no walk in the park, so one has to really be ready if they are to chase points here.
100 Butterfly
Two T.U. sop homores, Zach Dielmann and JJ Lubinski, scored in the 2009 championship final heat. That was good news for Trinity, as DePauw saw only one athlete (FY Brogan Runion) place in the top 8 here. Senior Sean Benton and sophomore Drew Cauthorn both scored in the consolation final in Nashville, so the 100 was a good event for the Tigers in 2009. Things should get even better in 2010. FY Spencer Bard has plenty of sprint fly talent, and will no doubt add considerably to Trinity's 100 fly scoring potential in Louisville. Junior Patrick Smith will be attempting to make a come-back for T.U. after missing last season because of health issues, and has the ability to contribute here if all goes well for him this winter.
200 Freestyle
Trinity went 6 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 15 - 16 in the 2009 SCAC 200 freestyle finals, scoring more swimmers than any other team in the conference. The trick now is for everyone to move up a notch - or at least go a little faster in Louisville. Jimmy Tatgenhorst of Centre is the only top 8 Nashville finalist that graduated, so this event will be a tough one for anyone hoping to contend for All-SCAC honors (or perhaps even slipping in to a night final) in 2010. Graham Mullings and Andrew Battles both finished in the big final in Nashville, while sophomore Aaron Shaver surprised all with a consolation final win (1:45.96). He has the potential to get better, and will have some horses to chase during T.U.'s practice sessions if he wants to improve his chances of making an impact this winter.
100 Breaststroke
Sophomore Hunter Banister won the 2009 consolation final of the 100 breaststroke at the 2009 Championships, and junior Ken Rogge was 12th. DePauw went 1-2 in the event, so this is a race in which T.U. must make big strides if it is to contend for conference team honors in Louisville. First-year swimmers Audel Mehrinfar and Zack Claar will make a difference for the Tigers here, and will hopefully help Trinity's cause by putting some much-needed extra points on the scoreboard in Louisville. Other schools will be making their own run on DePauw's ownership of this event, so it will be interesting to see how the 2010 SCAC final plays out. No Trinity swimmer scored breaststroke points wearing a high-tech suit in Nashville last year, so T.U. returnees won't miss that edge a bit.
100 Backstroke
This will be an interesting race in Louisville. Just how much the Speedo Lazers and the Blue-70's helped the conference's top finishers in 2009 will possibly be revealed at the upcoming SCAC Championships in Louisville. Tr inity's returning backstroke specialists, senior Spencer Hill and sophomore Zach Dielmann, will be joined by FY Sean Fronczak and by junior Patrick Smith. Both have the potential to make a significant difference for the Tigers in both 2010 dorsal events. A lot of schools seem to have good backstroke talent on their teams this year, so it will be fun to see what happens in February when everyone is shaved and tapered - and all are wearing suits meeting the new guidelines set by the NCAA.
Three-Meter Diving
Sophomore Kevin Martin scored 424.20 on his way to runner-up honors in Nashville last winter. He'll be trying to reel in Centre's Hunter Hayes over the course of the 2010 swimming and diving season. Coach Stan Randall believes Martin has the talent to do so, and will be working with him to make that hope a reality. Trinity outscored all other conference men's teams on the 3-meter board last winter, as Austin Whelan finished 4th, Jack Foreman 5th, Matt Hawley 9th, and Andrew Snead 10th. All return with the exception of the now-graduated Whelan, and all will have another year of diving savvy by the time the team returns from their winter training camp in Puerto Rico. Coach Randall swears they will be ready to go in Louisville!
1650 Freestyle
Trinity's Andrew Battles ripped a page out of the record book last year in Nashville, clocking a 15:56.95 in the mile and taking down T.U. alum Ryan Van Dar Kar's conference record 16:15.86 (set back in 2001). Battles won the race by nearly 30 seconds, so he is likely to be the odds on favorite again in 2010. He was the Tiger's only 1650 finalist last year, however, so it would be nice to see someone else join him this winter in this the longest race in the collegiate program. FY Mike Brew swims the 500 pretty well, so perhaps he'll develop into Trinity's next miler. Battles could use the company and Trinity could use the points. It seems unlikely that any of the T.U. sprint freestyle corps is going to have an epiphany and suddenly decide to embrace the 1650, so Trinity needs to recruit new blood here.
200 Backstroke
Nobody has come close to T.U. Alum Zach Coburn's 200 backstroke record of 1:51.57 (set back in 2001) - and unless someone uses an outboard motor, it's probably safe to presume it will remain on the books for at least another season. Spencer Hill and Nick Lilly finished 1 -2 in the 2009 consolation final, and both return to make a run at improving upon their Nashville performances during the Louisville championship meet. FY Sean Fronczak will contest for conference honors in the 200, and junior Patrick Smith may surprise a few observers with his ability to swim up to this distance. DePauw had two of the top three in this race last year, so they will be seeking to maintain the status quo in 2010 Let's see what happens when all these fellas report to the blocks sans high tech....
100 Freestyle
DePauw went 1 - 3 - 4 in the Nashville 100 freestyle, and Centre's Jimmy Tatgenhort (who finished runner-up to John Cook) has graduated. It looks like they own this event. Trinity senior Graham Mullings was 6th here last winter, while sophomore Aaron Shaver was 8th. Neither wore high-tech in the 2009 sprint 100 final, so both will see some of the rest of the proverbial pack on more equal terms in Louisville. Sean Benton (11th) returns for yet another run for the roses, and will be joined by first-year C.J. Robison, who should improve upon his 2009 high school performances. If Trinity can get a little tougher and score few more points here, it will help their chances for team conference honors in a really big way.
200 Breaststroke
Hunter Banister surprised all with a top 8 finish in this event a year ago - improving his PR by a big bunch in the process. Sophomore Matt Wey was 10th and Junior Ken Rogge was 13th in the 2009 conference meet. All of these men were quicker than expected when all was said and done in Nashville, the kind of surprise any team loves to experience. Courtland Day of Sewanee won the 200 with a quick 2:08.75 last February, so everyone in the conference will be chasing him this winter. T.U.'s first-year duo of Audel Mehrinfar and Zack Claar should provide Trinity with some welcome talent in an event that seems to be kind of wild and crazy on game day every season. Hopefully, all five will contribute to the Tiger cause in a meaningful way in Louisville.
200 Butterfly
Alex Miranda borrowed a Blue-70 for the finals of the 200
butterfly in the 2009 Nashville championship meet. The outcome was
a new conference record time of 1:51.76 and a 2 ½ second
finish ahead of Centre's Hunter Owen. He was ready for a good one
going into the race, and the suit definitely helped make a "good"
time even better. As with Andrew Battles in the 1650 freestyle,
however, Miranda was Trinity's only finalist in the 200 fly.
Fortunately for the Tigers, they won both events. J.J.
Lubinski would have scored in Nashville, but instead got a pink
slip for an untimely flutter kick. Bummer there. First-year Spencer
Bard has recorded a sub 2:00 time in this event while in high
school, so T.U. will be a little better in the long fly in 2010 if
everyone stays legal and swims tough.
