LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Trinity University's Mabel Fowler and Maren Merwarth were named the league's female Swimmer and Diver-of-the-Year, respectively, based on exclusive voting by the head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. It marks the second consecutive year that Merwarth has received the honor. 2020 All-SCAC Women's Swim/Dive Team
Fowler, a junior from Uvalde, Texas, had a tremendous year of competition and training. At the TU Tiger invitational, she had two individual wins and a runner-up finish, breaking a school record in the 500. At the Tigers’ dual meet with D1 Incarnate Word, she broke school records in both the 1000 and the mile with her times ranked third and 15th nationally, respectively, at the conclusion of the season. At the 2020 conference championship, Fowler was a part of four conference record swims (two individual/two relay) and won three individual titles (200 free, 500 free and 200 back). She was a key contributor on all of Trinity's A relays, earning eight All-SCAC honors total, and capping the meet with SCAC Female Swimmer of the Meet honors. Fowler is currently tied for fourth all-time for individual SCAC championship gold medals. She qualified for the NCAA national meet in both the 200 back and 500 free and was scheduled to swim as part of the Tigers’ 400 free and 800 free relays. The junior earned Honorable Mention All-American honors in the 200 back last year.
Fowler's selection marks the sixth time in the last eight years - and seventh overall - that a Trinity student-athlete has earned SCAC Female Swimmer of the Year honors.
Trinity's Merwarth, a sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, consistently won her events in meet competition during the 2019-20 season, including at this year’s SCAC championships where she won the conference crown on the 3-meter board and placed second on the 1-meter. Her combined scores gave her the edge and earned her SCAC Diver of the Meet honors for the second consecutive year. Merwarth went on to secure the second qualifying spot on the 1-meter and third spot on the 3-meter at the NCAA regional diving event, marking the second straight year the sophomore has qualified for the NCAA championships.
Merwarth's selection as Diver of the Year marks the 15th consecutive a Trinity female student-athlete has taken home the top honor. She is just the third diver in conference history to win the honor as both a freshman and a sophomore following Jill Greshowak of Hendrix College (2004 and 2005) and Hayley Emeerick of Trinity (2008 and 2009).
In balloting that took place following the conference championship meet, the Trinity University staff - led by third-year head coach Scott Trompeter, along with head diving coach Stan Randall, assistant coach John Ryan and assistant coach Kimberly Jones - earned SCAC Women's Coaching Staff-of-the-Year honors. The award marked the sixth consecutive year the program has been so honored and 12th time overall.