2017 NCAA Division III Women – Day 3 Finals Live Recap

Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

Women’s 200-yard Butterfly – Final

  • NCAA DIII Record: 1:55.66 3/23/2012 Logan Todhunter, Williams
  1. Megan Pierce, SR Williams 1:59.76
  2. Shanny Lin, JR RPI 2:01.30
  3. Meggie Leitz, JR Ursinus 2:01.63
  4. Veronica Wolff, FR Williams 2:01.77
  5. Katelyn Strauss, St. Thomas 2:01.83
  6. Anne Dassow, FR Grove City 2:02.01
  7. Abigail Brown, SR Johns Hopkins 2:02.09
  8. Megan Campbell, JR Emory 2:04.38

Meggie Leitz of Ursinus turned first at the 50 wall, then Katelyn Strauss of St. Thomas took over at the 100 from lane 7. Megan Pierce pulled even at the 150 wall, and the last 50 was all Pierce. Coming home in 31.0, Pierce finished in 1:59.76, her first sub-2:00 200 fly. Shanny Lin of RPI pulled to the front of the next pack, and touched second in 2:01.30, just ahead of Leitz.

This is Megan Pierce‘s second national title this weekend; she also won the 400 IM on Wednesday.

Women’s 100-yard Backstroke – Final

  • NCAA DIII Record: 53.46 3/22/2013 Celia Oberholzer, Kenyon
  1. Cindy Cheng, JR Emory 54.41
  2. Caroline Olson, FR Emory 54.42
  3. Emma Paulson, SR St. Thomas 54.54
  4. Olivia Jackson, SR Williams 55.25
  5. Emily Rollo, SR W & L 55.53
  6. Eleanore Hong, SR Rose-Hulman 55.76
  7. Claire Liu, SR Emory 55.88
  8. Sara Daher, SR Bates 55.98

In an exciting finish, Emory junior Cindy Cheng held off fast-closing teammate Caroline Olson and defending champion Emma Paulson of St. Thomas to win the 100 back in 54.41. Olson closed in 27.94, and only missed catching her teammate by 1/100. Paulson was another .12 back with 54.54. Williams senior Olivia Jackson led the next wave into the wall with a fourth-place 55.25.

Cheng, too, is a double champion this year. She won the 200 free on Thursday in addition to the 100 back.

Women’s 100-yard Breaststroke – Final

  • NCAA DIII Record: 1:00.54 2/18/2006 Lindsay Payne, Williams
  • Meet Record: 1:00.85 3/22/2013 Amy Spaay, UW Whitewater
  1. Sam Senczyszyn, SO UW-Eau Claire 1:01.64
  2. KT Kustritz, FR Denison 1:02.45
  3. Julia Wilson, JR Kenyon 1:02.59
  4. Emily Medeiros, SR Springfield 1:02.69
  5. Caroline White, FR Williams 1:02.77
  6. Hannah Lally, SO Emory 1:02.84
  7. Erin Bagley, SR Wheaton IL 1:03.07
  8. Katherine Mesaros, FR Denison 1:03.22

Eau Claire sophomore and defending champion Sam Senczyszyn led from start to finish, but there was a heated battle for second place behind her. Senczyszyn touched in 1:01.64 for the win. Denison freshman KT Kustritz closed dramatically, moving from 8th at the 50 to 2nd overall, with a 32.47 second half, the fastest in the heat by .23. She earned the silver medal with 1:02.45. Kenyon junior Julia Wilson was third in 1:02.59, touching out Springfield senior Emily Medeiros by .10.

Women’s 1-meter Diving – Final

  • NCAA DIII Record: 515.90 3/25/11 Danica Roskos TCNJ
  1. Maura Sticco-Ivins, JR Wellesley 475.40
  2. , JR Centre College 445.75
  3. Vivian Zho, FR MIT 80
  4. Meghan Bartlett, SR SUNY Fredonia 432.05
  5. Agnes Lo, FR Chicago 428.45
  6. Elyse Stone, JR Smith 427.05
  7. Allison Fitzgerald, FR Denison 424.2
  8. Sarah Kate Mrkonich, JR Trinity (TX) 412.65

Wellesley junior Maura Sticco-Ivins completed her sweep of the diving events, taking the 1-meter board after having won the national title in 3-meter diving on Wednesday. Sticco-Ivins, who scored 475.40 points to win, was 11th in this event last year. Centre junior Sarah Hayhurst improved four positions from her sixth-place finish at 2016 NCAAs; she scored 445.75 points for runner-up. Hayhurst was fourth in 3-meter diving on Day One. MIT freshman Vivian Zho, fifth on the 3-meter board, finished third with 434.80.

Women’s 800-yard Freestyle Relay – Fastest Heat

  • NCAA DIII Record: 7:18.15 3/23/2012, Williams (Thompson, Todhunter, Geller, Wilson)
  1. Emory 7:14.98
  2. Kenyon 7:15.08
  3. Wash U 7:21.92
  4. Chicago 7:22.15
  5. Williams 7:22.47
  6. Calvin 7:28.72
  7. MIT 7:29.95
  8. NYU 7:30.28

Emory won the 800 free relay but by a much smaller margin than one might have expected, given their dominance in the relays until now. The Eagles won by a mere .10 over Kenyon, and both teams demolished the NCAA Division III record in the event.

Chicago went out with Emory over the first half, but faded in the third leg. Kenyon overtook Emory on the third 200, but the Eagles’ Cindy Cheng, who had won the individual 200 free, eked out a win over Abby Wilson of Kenyon. Both teams easily cleared the old Division III record, set by Williams in 2012.

Wash U was third in the heat, while Chicago hung on for fourth.

Emory 7:14.98:

1) Muir, Fiona SO 1:47.84
2) Wawer, Julia JR 1:50.15
3) Bergh, Marissa SR 1:50.04
4) Cheng, Cindy JR 1:46.95

Kenyon 7:15.08:

1) Green, Julia FR 1:50.30
2) Ambrosen, Delaney SO 1:49.45
3) Orbach-Mandel, Hannah SO 1:47.79
4) Wilson, Abby SO 1:47.54

 

Team Scores – Day Three

                     Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 28                     
 
  1. Emory                           471.5   2. Williams                          327
  3. Kenyon                            270   4. Denison                           234
  5. Mit                               141   6. Wash U. MO                        120
  7. Washington & Lee                   94   8. Nyu                              93.5
  9. Johns Hopkins                    85.5  10. Chicago                            76
 11. Calvin                             69  12. Conn College                       68
 13. Ithaca                             65  14. Bates                              63
 15. Amherst                          62.5  16. St. Thomas                         59
 17. Wheaton IL                         41  18. Wellesley                          40
 19. Claremont MS                       36  20. Middlebury                         35
 21. Carnegie Mellon                    32  21. Centre College                     32
 23. Suny Fredonia                      31  24. Uw-Eau Claire                      30
 25. Ursinus                            28  26. Trinity U.                         26
 27. Grove City                         25  28. Illinois Wesleyan                  20
 29. Pomona-Pitzer                    17.5  30. Rensselaer                         17
 31. Springfield                        15  31. Smith                              15
 33. Uw-Lacrosse                        13  33. DePauw                             13
 33. Bowdoin                            13  33. Rose-Hulman                        13
 37. Mount Union                        12  38. Kalamazoo                          11
 38. Whitman                            11  38. Carleton                           11
 41. William Smith                       6  42. Suny Geneseo                        5
 43. Stevens                           4.5  44. Birmingham Southern                 4
 44. St. Catherine                       4  44. Mary Washington                     4
 44. Wesleyan                            4  48. Redlands                            2
 48. Gustavus                            2  50. Union                               1

 

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About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently …

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