INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The NCAA released the selections for the 2020 Division III Swimming and Diving Championships and nine Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference student-athletes made the cut. Official Psych Sheet
Trinity University will be represented by six swimmers and two divers, while Southwestern will send one swimmer.
For the Tigers, Mabel Fowler, Meghan Magill, and Morgen Reyna are the women's individual swimmers, while Beau Tipton received the men's nod. The women's 400-yard relay team consists of Fowler, Reyna, Elizabeth Nelson, and Star Rosales. Magill joins Fowler, Reyna, and Rosales in the 800 free relay event.
Fowler is seeded 15th in the women's 200 backstroke at 2:01.76. The Tiger junior was an Honorable Mention All-American in the 200 back at last year's NCAA meet at Greensboro and recently was named the 2020 SCAC Swimmer of the Meet. Fowler is ranked 20th in the 500 freestyle (4:57.37) and 21st in the 200 freestyle (1:51.86). Magill, a sophomore, stands at #24 in the 200 free at 1:52.13.
Reyna, a sophomore, will compete individually in the 100 freestyle with a No. 32 seed time of 51.65 seconds. The 400 free relay quartet is seeded 16th at 3:27.84, while the 800 free relay is 17th with a mark of 7:32.63.
Tipton is the ninth seed in the men's 200 butterfly with a time of 1:48.54. The Trinity junior achieved Honorable Mention All-America status in the 200 fly at the 2019 NCAA Championships and last month was named the 2020 SCAC Swimmer of the Meet. Tipton is seeded 33rd in the 500 freestyle (4:34.17) and is No. 38 in the 200 free (1:40.56).
On the diving side, the Tigers will send sophomores Katarina Partalas and Maren Merwarth who qualified after finishing 1-2 in the women’s 1-meter competition at the NCAA Region 2 Championships last Friday. Partalas took the top spot, scoring 414.55 to win by 26.50 points. Merwarth, who claimed 2020 SCAC Diver of the Meet, narrowly won second place with her score of 388.05, which was less than three points clear of third place.
Representing Southwestern is sophomore Jesse Stovall. She will compete in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 100-yard butterfly. Stovall will be the first Pirate to compete on the national stage since teammate Rehgan Hartsell qualified for the 2018 Championships.
This season, Stovall defended her SCAC 50-yard freestyle championship, finishing first with a time of 23.59—good for a NCAA 'B' cut—to win the event for a second consecutive year. She also defended her 100-yard freestyle title with a time of 51.38 seconds.
The championships will be held March 18-21 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the Greensboro Aquatic Center will serve as co-hosts. A total of 579 participants (526 swimmers and 53 divers) will compete in the championships.
