CHICAGO/SAN ANTONIO – The Tiger men's swimming & diving team closed out a unique weekend of action on Saturday, winning at home for the second straight day against the University of St. Thomas, and finishing fourth among several ranked teams at the D3 Shootout that was hosted by the University of Chicago.

Trinity won 46-28 over St. Thomas to earn a weekend sweep against its fellow Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference school. At the D3 Shootout, Trinity finished fourth behind three teams in the top 15 of the lastest national rankings, while three other ranked teams finished behind the Tiger men. Third-ranked Chicago won the meet with 496 points just ahead of No. 13 Pomona-Pitzer College (CA) and its 491 points, while No. 8 Washington University-St. Louis was third with 478 points. Trinity finished with 389 points over the two days – 17 points in front of No. 20 SUNY-Geneseo and No. 18 Hope College (MI) that tied for fifth. No. 17 Swarthmore College (PA) was seventh and Wabash College (IN) finished eighth.

Trinity vs. St. Thomas, Round 2
The Tigers won all six individual events that they competed in, as well as both the 400 mixed medley relay and the 400 mixed free relay. Five different Trinity swimmers earned individual wins, with three additional Tigers also earning silver medals.

John Fontenot (Austin, Texas / St. Andrew's) and Brennan Jimenez (Fair Oaks, Calif. / Bella Vista) teamed up with two women's team members for a victory in the mixed medley relay with a time of 3:56.11. Nathan Perez (Alpharetta, Ga. / Johns Creek) and William Kitto IV (Prairieview, La. / Catholic High School) were the men's half of the mixed free relay winning team that finished in 3:31.52.

Perez was the lone Tiger to win two individual wins after taking the 200 free title in 1:44.49 and the 50 fly win in 23.95 seconds. Kitto also won the 100 free in 50.04 seconds, while Jimenez was the runner-up in both the 100 IM (58.19) and the 50 breast (29.02). Fontenot added a bronze in the 50 fly with a time of 25.26 seconds.

William Sikes (Pittsboro, N.C. / Woods Charter) had both a gold and a silver on Saturday. He was the 100 IM champion with a time of 58.03 seconds and was second to Kitto in the 100 free with a race of 51.76 seconds.

While Owen Flynn (Guthrie, Okla. / Heritage Hall) and Caleb Del Rosario (Sudbury, Mass. / Lincoln-Sudbury) teamed up for silver in the mixed medley relay with a time of 3:59.85, the duo also had the final two individual wins for the Tigers. Del Rosario was on the 50 breast in 28.41 seconds, while Flynn took top honors in the 50 back in 25.85 seconds. Flynn also joined Trace Briones (San Antonio, Texas / Health Careers) for silver in the mixed free relay that finished in 3:37.69. Briones was also second in the 50 fly (24.17) and hooked up with Chase Hays (Austin, Texas / Anderson) for bronze in the mixed medley relay (4:01.31). Hays also had silver-medal performances in both the 200 free (1:51.59) and the 50 back (26.71).

Coach Speak
"The morning session moved quickly and the Tigers moved right along with it," exclaimed Head Coach Cathleen Pruden. "Already having two chances this season to practice being fast at night and then coming back in the morning is an excellent chance for us to prepare for championship season. They made the most of this opportunity and will be ready to rest for Tiger Invite in two weeks."

D3 Shootout, Day 2
There were two bronze medalists for the Tigers on Saturday at the D3 Shootout, including Konstantine Partalas (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) and his third-place finish on the 3-meter diving board, scoring 257.80 points.

Also earning third place was Kendal Southwell (Rio Rancho, N.M. / Calvert Online Academy) in the 200 breast with a time of 2:05.90. Teammate John Key (El Paso, Texas / Franklin) was second in the B final of the 200 breast and his time of 2:05.87 was the fourth fastest of the day. Key added an individual fourth-place finish in the 200 back with a time of 1:54.08. Southwell came back later in the day and finished 14th in the B final of the 200 IM, touching the wall in 2:00.33.

Southwell was also part of Trinity's 400 medley relay team that started off today's action. He was joined by Michael Kohl (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point), Caleb Manifold (Helotes, Texas / Homeschool), and Nathaniel Early (Austin, Texas / Westwood) to finish fifth overall with a time of 3:24.83. Kohl, Early, and Manifold came back later with Daniel Itkins (Houston, Texas / The Village School) to earn sixth in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:24.62. Itkins was also 15th in the B final of the 200 back in 1:57.46.

Early and Kohl both also had top five finishes in individual races on Saturday. Early was fourth in the 100 free in 46.37 seconds, while Kohl swam 50.58 seconds in the 100 fly to earn fifth place. Manifold finished fifth (13th overall) in the B final of the 100 fly with a time of 51.45 seconds.

Ryan O'Leary (Austin, Texas / Austin) scored a sixth-place finish in the 500 free with a time of 4:44.29, while William Walker (Houston, Texas / Westside) was 12th in 4:45.15 in the B final. Walker was also 14th in the B final of the 100 free with a time of 47.84 seconds. The Tiger duo also teamed up with a pair of swimmers on the Trinity women's team for the 400 mixed free relay, and finished sixth with a time of 3:24.95.

Coach Speak
For the second day in a row we had men swimming better than they did at this meet last year," said Head Coach Cathleen Pruden. "We remained incredibly competitive with some ranked teams and are in a great position to perform well with some rest in two weeks!"

Up Next
Following a busy weekend, the Trinity men's team will not compete again until hosting the Tiger Invitational Friday-Sunday, November 17-19. The three-day meet will be held at the Alamo Heights High School Natatorium.