SAN ANTONIO – Trinity's 18th-ranked women's swimming & diving team opened the 2024-25 season with a strong 172-125 win over Colorado College on Friday night.

The Tigers earned 10 event wins on the day – including both relays – and had 14 more second and third place performances. There were also nine events in which there were two Trinity competitors in the top three places.

Junior NCAA National Champion Neely Burns (Phoenix, Ariz. / Thunderbird) won three individual events and had a hand in a winning relay to lead Trinity to the team victory. Burns won the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:01.11, took gold in the 200 back after touching the wall in 2:13.83, then also won the 200 individual medley in 2:14.46. The 200 IM race saw the Tigers finish in each of the top four spots. At the end of the evening, Burns was joined by junior Rachel Brown (Flower Mound, Texas / Marcus) and sophomores Amy Benson (Newmarket, N.H. / Phillips Exeter Academy) and Allison Ortiz (Houston, Texas / Stratford) for the 400 free relay. The quartet won that race with a time of 3:39.37.

Ortiz and Benson were also a part of the winning 400 medley relay team that kicked off tonight's meet, and that team notched a winning time of 4:04.12. The duo was joined by junior Jules Wiehrdt (Waco, Texas / Midway) and first-year Marian Penry (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Regis Jesuit) on that successful relay team. Ortiz also won the 100 butterfly with a time of 58.94, while Benson was the runner-up in 59.92 seconds. Ortiz was also the runner-up with a time of 25.20 in the 50 free, with Brown behind her in third place and a time of 25.56. Benson picked up a win in the 200 free after finishing in 1:58.17, edging out fellow sophomore Julia Carter (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) who finished second in 2:01.51. Brown was also Trinity's top finisher in the 100 free, earning third place with her time of 55.97 seconds. Carter was fourth in 56.01 in the same race. Wiehrdt was just under two seconds behind Burns to finish second in the 100 back with a time of 1:03.01.

Audrey Jacobson (Dallas, Texas / School for the Talent and Gifted) joined Burns as the only Tigers with multiple individual wins at the meet, as she took top honors in both the 1,000 free and the 500 free. She finished the shorter race in 5:22.19, after starting off the evening with a time of 11:03.59 to win the 1,000. Jacobson was also joined by Carter, sophomore Ellie Devens (Houston, Texas / Tomball), and Wiehrdt on the 400 free relay team that finished third in 3:44.68.

Brooklyn Fuscone (Hoffman Estates, Ill. / Hoffman Estates) led the Tiger diving contingent, winning the 1-meter competition before finishing second on the high board by a narrow margin. She scored 270.0 points to win the low board, then was second in the 3-meter event with a score of 280.10 that was a mere 2.15 points from first place.

Senior Sid McCullough (Centennial Creek, Colo. / Cherry Creek) was second in the 200 breast with a time of 2:35.43, while also being a part of three Tigers in the top five in the 100 breast event. Penry was Trinity's top finisher in third place, clocking in at 1:10.42, followed by junior Lindsay McKinney (Victoria, Texas / Saint Joseph) in fourth (1:11.79) and McCullough in fifth (1:13.04). McKinney was also fourth in the 200 breast with a time of 2:38.12.

Junior Erin Morie (St. Louis, Mo. / Cor Jesu Academy) was second in the 200 fly by just 0.02 seconds, finishing in 2:17.76 to earn silver. Fellow junior Erica Peterson (Lantana, Texas / Guyer) was third in 2:19.03 in the 200 fly, but earned a silver of her own in the 200 IM behind Burns. Peterson finished in 2:19.28 to be the runner-up, while Penry was third in 2:21.35, and Morie was fourth in 2:21.95 to give Trinity each of the top four spots. Morie also earned third place behind Jacobson in the 500 free, touching in 5:35.58. Junior Bethany Mueller (Buda, Texas / Hays) was also third behind Burns in the 200 back with a time of 2:18.02.

Coach Speak
"The women started off the way they ended last year, with their winning ways," said Head Coach Cathleen Pruden. "A number of swimmers were better than they were this time last year, so that's encouraging! We'll be ready for another chance to compete in two weeks!"

Up Next
Trinity will host an Alumni Meet on Saturday, October 26, as part of the school's Alumni Weekend celebrations. The Tigers will face off against the University of Texas-Permian Basin on Saturday, November 2, in Odessa, Texas.