CHICAGO – The Tiger men's swimming & diving team finished in fourth place at the two-day D3 Shootout that was composed of mostly nationally-ranked teams and was hosted by the University of Chicago (IL).
Trinity wrapped up the event on Saturday, jumping up from sixth place after the opening day's results. The Tiger men finished in the top 10 in all three relays on the day, while first-year
Luke Fender (Jackson, Miss. / St. Andrew's Episcopal) shattered a school record with a time of 4:29.96 in the 500 freestyle. The previous record was 4:33.35 and was set by Andrew Thiesse in 2014.
Fender and
William Walker (Houston, Texas / Westside) teamed up with
Rachel Brown (Flower Mound, Texas / Marcus) and
Julia Carter (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) from the Tiger women's team to finish fifth in the 400 mixed free relay with a time of 3:20.55. The day started with
Enzo Fiorese (McKinney, Texas / Heritage),
John Key (El Paso, Texas / Franklin), Walker, and
Daniel Itkins (Houston, Texas / The Village School) swimming the 400 medley relay in a time of 3:25.71 that was good for sixth in today's race. Itkins and Fiorese teamed up with
Ryan O'Leary (Austin, Texas / Austin) and
Nathan Perez (Alpharetta, Ga. / Johns Creek) for 10th in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:26.75.
Key finished fifth in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:55.20, while Itkins was 15th after posting a time of 1:56.97. Key also had a top five finish in the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:05.67 for fourth place.
Grant Bibza (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) won the B final with a time of 2:08.10 to earn 11th place overall. Walker took seventh after finishing the 100 butterfly in 50.81 seconds, while Fiorese was 18th in 52.26.
Max Rolla-Mullis (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Pioneer) was also seventh after scoring 202.20 in the 3-meter diving competition. O'Leary notched a seventh place finish of his own in the 200 individual medley, touching in 1:56.74. Bibza came in 15th overall racing in the B final with a time of 1:55.62. Perez was ninth in the 100 free with a time of 48.15 seconds, while Fender was 18th with a time of 47.54 in the B final.
Coach Speak
"I am so proud of these Tigers," said Head Coach
Cathleen Pruden. "These men were committed to doing everything they could to maximize the team finish. Luke (Fender) takes home swim of the meet for his jaw dropping 500 freestyle, but we also had a few other lifetime best times and performances that were better than last year. We have a lot to reflect on and are ready for one more week of hard training before we rest for Tiger Invite."
Up Next
After splitting up to compete in multiple events this weekend, the entire Tiger men's team will be back together November 22-24 for the Tiger Invitational, hosted by Trinity at the Alamo Heights High School Natatorium.
