LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Trinity University teammates Charles Clark and Daniel Valmassei were named the league's male Swimmer and Diver-of-the-Year, respectively, after exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. 2018 All-SCAC Men's Swim/Dive Team
Clark, a senior from Stillwater, Okla., capped off a stellar career this season. In November, he broke the SCAC open mark in the 100 backstroke, and at the SCAC championships, he lowered the SCAC 100 back record again in prelims going 49.77 to win the event for the second consecutive year. He also won the 200 back while posting a NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:50.07 and earned a second-place finish in the 50 free.
Additionally, Clark was a key contributor on nearly every relay at the SCAC meet including his lead-off swim in the 400 free relay (46.44) that could have taken home the gold in the 100 freestyle earlier that evening.
Clark is the fifth straight Trinity student-athlete to win SCAC Men's Swimmer-of-the-Year honors.
Valmassei, a freshman from Lake Lotawana, Mo., made an immediate impact to the Trinity swimming and diving program, earning a spot at the NCAA Championships as a first-year student-athlete. He was the first Tiger men’s diver to qualify for Nationals in 10 years, making the most of his opportunity by earning Honorable Mention all-America honors in the 1-meter competition by finishing 10th. On the 3-meter board, Valmassei narrowly missed the finals with an 18th-place finish.
Valmassei was a three-time SCAC Diver of the Week honoree who was named the SCAC Diver of the Meet at the 2018 conference championships. He won both the 1-meter and 3-meter events to help the Trinity men win their seventh straight conference title.
In balloting that was conducted at the conference championship meet, the Trinity University staff - led by first-year head coach Scott Trompeter, along with head diving coach Stan Randall, assistant coach John Ryan and assistant coach Kimberly Jones - earned SCAC Men's Coaching Staff-of-the-Year honors. It was the first honor for the program on the men's side since the 2014 season and the fifth overall.