2016 NCAA Division III Championships – Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

Division III Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 16-19, 2016
• Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
• Prelims 10 AM, Finals 6 PM – U.S. Eastern Time Zone (GMT -4 currently)
• Event schedule
• Meet program
• Real-time results – diving
• Real-time results – swimming
• Video link
• Championship Central

Men’s 200-yard Butterfly – Prelims

• NCAA DIII Record: 1:44.93 3/20/2015 Alex Anderson, Mary Washington

It was a tough morning for some of Division III’s top 200 flyers. But one man’s loss is another’s gain and we will have many new faces in the championship final tonight. It should be a good race, too, as only .98 separate the first qualifier from the eighth. If ever we needed proof that prelims are important, we got it in this event: every single A final qualifier improved on his seed time. Amherst senior Jeff Anderson led the charge with 1:48.14, taking 1.54 off his seed time in a very evenly-split race. Anderson finished seventh in last year’s final. Carnegie Mellon freshman Mitchell Riek bettered his entry time by 1.5 and qualified second with 1:48.27. MIT sophomore Douglas Kogut was third through in 1:48.45.

The rest of the championship final will consist of Kenyon freshman Jonathan Zimdars (dropped .4), CMS senior Matt Valentine (dropped .2), Connecticut sophomore George Tilneac (dropped 1.2), St. Thomas senior Mike Lanz (dropped 1.9), and Goucher senior Morgan Richter (dropped .6).

Top-seeded Orion Martin of Rose-Hulman and fifth seed Nicholas Marks of Rowan had tough races and failed to qualify for finals altogether; third seed Luke Schlueter of MIT and eighth seed Cameron Martinez of Sarah Lawrence missed the A final by .09 and .23, respectively; and another pair of top-8 seeds, Wash U senior Reed Dalton and his freshman teammate Brandon Lum, qualified 12th and 14th, respectively.

Top 8:

1. Jeff Anderson, Amherst 1:48.14
2. Mitchell Riek, Carnegie Mellon 1:48.27
3. Douglas Kogut, MIT 1:48.45
4. Jonathan Zimdars, Kenyon 1:48.70
5. Matt Valentine, CMS 1:48.71
6. George Tilneac, Conn College 1:48.80
7. Mike Lanz, St. Thomas 1:48.85
8. Morgan Richter, Goucher 1:49.12

Women’s 200-yard Butterfly – Prelims

• NCAA DIII Record: 1:55.66 3/23/2012 Logan Todhunter, Williams

The 200 butterfly curse wasn’t as strong in the women’s event as it had been in the men’s, but it was present. Fifth seed Kanchi Desai of Kenyon and seventh seed Colleen Orwin of Kalamazoo felt its effects, missing out on an evening swim after difficult prelims races. Washington senior Amanda Stadermann was the fastest qualifier by over a half-second in 2:01.07, improving from her seed time by .47. Kenyon senior Mariah Williamson dropped 1.7 seconds to qualify third in 2:01.60, while Emory sophomore Rebecca Upton went a best-by-1.8 2:02.06 for third.

Williams junior Megan Pierce qualified fourth in 2:02.20, just ahead of Vassar junior Julia Cunningham, whose 2:02.25 was 2.2 seconds faster than her seed time. RPI sophomore Shanny Lin and Denison sophomore Halli Garza, originally seeded #1 and #2, made it back sixth and seventh. Emory sophomore Megan Campbell dropped .4 and squeaked into the number 8 spot.

The most notable swim of the morning belonged to Grove City senior Megan Bilko who dropped TEN seconds to qualify tenth with 2:04.46.

Top 8:

1. Amanda Stadermann, Wash U. MO 2:01.07
2. Mariah Williamson, Kenyon 2:01.60
3. Rebecca Upton, Emory 2:02.06
4. Megan Pierce, Williams 2:02.20
5. Julia Cunningham, Vassar 2:02.25
6. Shanny Lin, RPI 2:02.39
7. Garza, Halli Denison 2:03.43
8. Megan Campbell, Emory 2:03.77

Men’s 100-yard Backstroke – Prelims

• NCAA DIII Record: 47.03 3/19/2015 Ben Lin, Williams

Williams junior Ben Lin, the current NCAA Division III record-holder and defending champion in this event, posted the top qualifying time by a long shot, going 47.42. Behind him were junior Matt Williams of CMS (48.09), who took fourth in 2015; MIT senior Bo Mattix (48.50), sixth last year; Denison sophomore Jason Wesseling (48.81); Williams senior Alex McCarter (49.11), 13th last year; Tufts freshman Kingsley Brown (49.13) and senior Michael Winget (49.26), 14th last year; and Connecticut junior Michael Fothergill (49.32), eighth last year.

Top 8:

1. Benjamin Lin, Williams 47.42
2. Matthew Williams, CMS 48.09
3. Bo Mattix, MIT 48.50
4. Jason Wesseling, Denison 48.81
5. Alex McCarter, Williams 49.11
6. Kingsley Bowen, Tufts 49.13
7. Michael Winget, Tufts 49.26
8. Michael Fothergill, Conn College 49.32

Women’s 100-yard Backstroke – Prelims

• NCAA DIII Record: 53.46 3/22/2013 Celia Oberholzer, Kenyon

A big drop from defending champion, Luther senior Clare Slagel, put her at the top of the morning’s qualifiers by .25 with 54.47. That’s a full .10 faster than her winning time from 2015. St. Thomas junior Emma Paulson, third in the 2015 championship final, qualified second with 54.72, just .02 ahead of Williams senior Katherine Bennett (54.74), last year’s fourth-place finisher. These were the only three in the field to crack 55 seconds.

Joining them in the final will be Emory’s Cindy Cheng and Ellie Thompson, Washington & Lee junior Emily Rollo, Chicago sophomore Melissa Bischoff, and Rose-Hulman junior Eleanore Hong, who improved her seed time by .8 to make the A final.

Top 8:

1. Clare Slagel, Luther 54.47
2. Emma Paulson, St. Thomas 54.72
3. Katherine Bennett, Williams 54.74
4. Cindy Cheng, Emory 55.24
5. Ellie Thompson, Emory 55.34
6. Emily Rollo, W&L 55.37
7. Melissa Bischoff, Chicago 55.66
8. Eleanore Hong, Rose-Hulman 55.70

Men’s 100-yard Breaststroke – Prelims

• NCAA DIII Record: 51.72 3/20/2015 Andrew Wilson, Emory

2015 fourth-place finisher Kyle Walthall, a senior at York College, clocked a best-by-1 53.77 to lead the morning’s qualifiers. He was the only sub-54 in the field. Wash U junior Michael Lagieski, runner-up to Andrew Wilson last year, qualified second with 54.24. The College of New Jersey senior James Shangle dropped .4 to qualify third; he finished 22nd in 2015.

The rest of the A final will consist of all new faces except for one: Calvin senior Johnson Cochran. The others are Kenyon junior Trevor Manz, Wabash senior Zechariah Banks, Emory sophomore Cooper Tollen, and MIT sophomore Justin Chiu.

Top 8:

1. Kyle Walthall, York 53.77
2. Michael Lagieski, Wash U. MO 54.24
3. Shangle James , TCNJ 54.66
4. Trevor Manz, Kenyon 54.98
5. Johnson Cochran, Calvin 55.02
6. Zechariah Banks, Wabash 55.16
7. Cooper Tollen, Emory 55.46
8. Justin Chiu, MIT 55.49

Women’s 100-yard Breaststroke – Prelims

• NCAA DIII Record: 1:00.54 2/18/2006 Lindsay Payne, Williams
• Meet Record: 1:00.85 3/22/2013 Amy Spaay, UW Whitewater

Top-seeded freshman Samantha Senczyszyn of Wisconsin-Eau Claire went 1:01.57 to qualify ahead of 2015 runner-up Emily Hyde of Amherst (1:01.93). Both Senczyszyn and Hyde went under 1:01 during the regular season this year and are the clear favorites in tonight’s final.

Kenyon sophomore Julia Wilson, who won the consolation final in 2015, came in third with 1:02.11, .7 ahead of Springfield junior Emily Medeiros, last year’s fifth-place finisher. The rest of the A final will consist of Annelise Kowalsky of Emory, William Smith junior Caroline Conboy, Denison senior Marissa Bednarek, and Ashley Daniels of Emory.

Top 8:

1. Samantha Senczyszyn, U W-Eau Claire 1:01.57
2. Emily Hyde, Amherst 1:01.93
3. Julia Wilson, Kenyon 1:02.11
4. Emily Medeiros, Springfield 1:02.78
5. Annelise Kowalsky, Emory 1:02.82
6. Caroline Conboy, William Smith 1:02.85
7. Marissa Bednarek, Denison 1:03.07
8. Ashley Daniels, Emory 1:03.12

Men’s 800-yard Freestyle Relay – Slower Heats

• NCAA DIII Record: 6:29.27 3/22/2013, Johns Hopkins (Lordi, Kimball, Coggin, Schmidt)

The College of New Jersey dropped 6.4 seconds to turn in the fastest 800 free relay of the morning session with a 1:39.60 from junior Ryan Gajdzisz, 1:40.20 from sophomore Philip Binaco, 1:39.01 from junior Scott Vitabile, and 1:38.21 from junior Jason Ivins. Their combined 6:43.40 will be the time to beat in tonight’s final.

Women’s 800-yard Freestyle Relay – Slower Heats

• NCAA DIII Record: 7:18.15 3/23/2012, Williams (Thompson, Todhunter, Geller, Wilson)

Connecticut College posted a 7:28.75 in the morning round to set the bar in the women’s 800 free relay. Freshman Olivia Haskell (1:53.07), senior Emma Rotner (1:53.46), senior Samantha Pierce (1:48.84) and junior Valerie Urban (1:53.38) contributed to the Camels’ effort.

Men’s 1-meter Diving – Prelims

• NCAA DIII Record: 557.90 3/21/2002 Gabe Korteum, St. Olaf

2015 bronze medalist Benjamin Lewis of Denison scored 522.40 points to top the field in men’s 1-meter diving. Defending champion Max Levy, also of Denison was second with 511.55 points. Third was Samuel Randall of SUNY Geneseo.

Top 8:

1. Benjamin Lewis, Denison 522.40
2. Max Levy, Denison 511.55
3. Samuel Randall, SUNY Geneseo 484.80
4. Arron Carlson, SUNY Fredonia 451.85
5. Matthew Rohrer, Tufts 450.45
6. Jacob Burris, Albion 448.95
7. Heath Ogawa, Lake Forest 448.15
8. Brian Allen, Denison 447.35