GEORGETOWN, TEXAS - The Southwestern Men's Swimming and Diving team ended in third place behind Trinity University, with NCAA DII University of Texas - Permian Basin (UTPB) taking first place in the five-team Trinity Tiger Invitational. Southwestern, UTPB, Trinity, McMurry, and Loyola - New Orleans all competed in the three-day meet at Alamo Heights High School Natatorium.
Day 1: The team of Sam Anderson (Sr.), Henry McClure (Sr.), Owen Rodrigue (Fr.), and Marc Galindo (Fr.) kicked off the meet for the Pirates with a solid finish, securing second place in the 200 yd. freestyle relay holding a time of 1:25.75, beating the Loyola squad by just .41 seconds. Riding the momentum off of his team's second-place finish, Anderson earned third in the 200 IM with a time of 1:54.12.
Day 2: Anderson continued to place in the top three on day two, placing third in the 400 IM and clocking in a time of 4:08.02. To round out day two, freshman swimmer Jorge Mendiola ended in the top five at fifth place in the 100 yd. breaststroke, putting in a time of 58.72.
Day 3: In the 200 backstroke on day three, freshman Andrew Renninger made his mark on the invite by earning a third-place finish by just .16 seconds over his opponent with a time of 1:55.05. Zachary Kangieser (So.) earned a third-place spot as well for the Pirates in the 200 butterfly, clocking in a time of 1:54.39, just .8 seconds from a second-place finish. In the 1650 free, another freshman, Zachary Roberts, scored a third-place finish putting in a time of 16:36.37. Finally, three seniors, Anderson, McClure, Carter Duncan, and freshman Rodrigue took home third place in the 400 freestyle relay, clocking in at 3:09.77.
A school record was broken for the Pirates at the Tiger Invitational. Griffin Salinas, the Austin, Texas native, scored 203.1 on six dives from the 3-meter board and ended the event in fifth place. Salinas also competed in the 1-meter dive where he again finished fifth with a score of 373.95.
The Pirates return to their home pool to host McMurry University on December 16th at 1:00 PM.