Trinity's Tipton, Valmassei Earn SCAC Male Swimmer and Diver of the Year Honors

Trinity's Tipton, Valmassei Earn SCAC Male Swimmer and Diver of the Year Honors

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Trinity University teammates Beau Tipton 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. 2019 All-SCAC Men's Swim/Dive Team

Tipton, a sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, had a breakout season this year for the Tigers as he dropped nearly two seconds in the 200 free by going 1:40.52 at the SCAC championship meet with the fastest time overall in the conference leading off the 800 free relay. He also dropped a second in the 100 fly ringing in a time of 50.2. Tipton ended the season on a high note at the NCAA championships tying for eighth in the morning with a new SCAC open record of 1:48.49 in the 200 fly; then 20 minutes later went another 1:48 in the swim off. That evening, Tipton placed 10th, going 1:48 for the third time that day to earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.

Tipton is the sixth straight Trinity student-athlete to win SCAC Men's Swimmer-of-the-Year honors.

Valmassei, a sophomore from Lake Lotawana, Mo., finished first on the three-meter and third on the one-meter board at this year's conference championship meet to earn SCAC Diver of the Meet honors for the second consecutive year. He went on to qualify for the NCAA Championships on both boards, earning All-America honors on the 1-meter board with a fourth-place finish. He was the 16th on the three-meter board to earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.

The SCAC Diver of the Year award is the second straight for Valmassei and marks the fourth straight year a Trinity diver has earned the league's top honor.

In balloting that was conducted at the conference championship meet, the Southwestern University staff - led by eighth-year head coach Jon Duncan, along with assistant coach Sarah James, diving coach Jake Foust and volunteer assistant Dr. Scott McLean - earned SCAC Men's Coaching Staff-of-the-Year honors. It was the fifth honor for both Duncan and the program since he took over the helm at Southwestern prior to the 2011-12 season.