2017 NCAA Division III Women – Day 3 Prelims Live Recap

Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

 

Women’s 200-yard Butterfly – Prelims

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

Top 8 qualifiers:

  1. Megan Pierce, SR Williams 2:00.68
  2. Katelyn Strauss, St. Thomas 2:02.00
  3. Shanny Lin, JR RPI 2:02.18
  4. Veronica Wolff, FR Williams 2:02.20
  5. Megan Campbell, JR Emory
  6. Meggie Leitz, Ursinus 2:02.49
  7. Anne Dassow, FR Grove City 2:02.61
  8. Abigail Brown, SR Johns Hopkins 2:03.13

Sophomore Clara Baker of Ursinus began the women’s 200 fly heats with a big swim; she was out front by over a body length at the 100, and held her lead throughout the next two laps after which she began to fade. At the end MIT junior Mary Thielking finished first with 2:04.08. Baker went 2:04.78 for second, while Williams freshman Madeleine Deardorff took third with 2:05.15.

Grove City freshman Anne Dassow won a wire-to-wire victory in the following heat, touching in 2:02.61 just ahead of Johns Hopkins senior Abigail Brown (2:03.13) and Bowdoin sophomore Sterling Dixon (2:05.82).

In the next heat, Williams senior Megan Pierce held slight lead at the 50, which she extended over the second 50. But it was her third 50 that buried everyone else. Pierce came home strong and won with 2:00.68. She was followed in the heat by RPI junior Shanny Lin (2:02.18), Williams freshman Veronica Wolff (2:02.20), and Emory junior Megan Campbell (2:02.25), who were all bunched at the end.

St. Thomas sophomore Katelyn Strauss went out quickly in the final heat, which was otherwise very even through the 100. Strauss dropped 1.6 seconds to get the win in 2:02.00 and was followed in quick succession by Denison junior Halli Garza (2:03.28), Wash U junior Niamh O’Grady (2:03.94), and Emory freshman Maria Turcan (2:04.01).

Women’s 100-yard Backstroke – Prelims

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

Top 8 qualifiers:

  1. Cindy Cheng, JR Emory 54.89
  2. Caroline Olson, FR Emory 54.94
  3. Emma Paulson, SR St. Thomas 55.07
  4. Olivia Jackson, SR Williams 55.35
  5. Sara Daher, SR Bates 55.49
  6. Claire Liu, SR Emory 55.56
  7. Eleanore Hong, SR Rose-Hulman 55.72
  8. Emily Rollo, SR W & L 55.75

Union senior Christina Belforti dropped nearly 2 seconds to win the first heat in 56.25, and wound up making the B final by 3/100. The next heat went to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior Kelly Ngo, whose 1.2-second improvement nearly made the A final. Ngo won in 55.84 over Amherst junior Stephanie Moriarty (56.28) and Illinois Wesleyan senior Baylee Hoecker (56.35), both of whom dropped about 3/4 of a second.

Emory freshman Caroline Olson dropped a full second and won the first circle-seeded heat in 54.94, with Williams senior Olivia Jackson (55.35) and Washington & Lee senior Emily Rollo (55.75) just on her hip. Defending champion, St. Thomas senior Emma Paulson, went 55.07 to win the penultimate heat over Bates senior Sara Daher (55.49) and Emory senior Claire Liu (55.56). Emory junior Cindy Cheng led the final heat from start to finish, touching in a field-leading 54.89. Rose-Hulman senior Eleanore Hong (55.72) and Kenyon freshman Summer Otazu (55.90) followed.

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 8 qualifiers:

  1. Sam Senczyszyn, SO UW-Eau Claire 1:01.88
  2. KT Kustritz, FR Denison 1:02.25
  3. Hannah Lally, SO Emory 1:02.58
  4. Julia Wilson, JR Kenyon 1:02.69
  5. Emily Medeiros, SR Springfield 1:02.98
  6. Caroline White, FR Williams 1:03.05
  7. Erin Bagley, SR Wheaton IL 1:03.19
  8. Katherine Mesaros, FR Denison 1:03.22

Ithaca senior Grace Ayer, who had been a declared false start in the 100 back, dropped 1.4 seconds to win the opening heat of women’s 100 breast with 1:03.85. Ayer made it into the B final as the 15th qualifier overall. The next heat featured a thrilling finish as a line four-deep came in to the wall together. When the waves settled the finishing order was: NYU freshman Honore Collins (1:04.31), Emory & Henry senior Michaela Nolte (1:04.37), Johns Hopkins junior Kaitlin Jones (1:04.41), and MIT freshman Priscilla Wu (1:04.49).

Sophomore Hannah Lally of Emory dropped just over 1 second to win the first circle-seeded heat with 1:02.58. Following her were Kenyon junior Julia Wilson with 1:02.69 and Denison freshman Katherine Mesaros with 1:03.22. Denison freshman KT Kustritz claimed victory in the next-to-last heat with 1:02.25; coming to the wall in quick succession were Wheaton senior Erin Bagley (1:03.19), Emory senior Annelise Kowalsky (1:03.32), and Johns Hopkins junior Gwyneth Lamastra (1:03.61).

Defending champion Sam Senczyszyn, a sophomore from Wisconsin-Eau Claire, easily took the final heat in 1:01.88 to lead the morning’s qualifiers. Springfield senior Emily Medeiros (1:02.98) and Williams freshman Caroline White (1:03.05) touched nearly together.

Women’s 800-yard Freestyle Relay – Slower Heats

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

Top 8 (guaranteed to score in at least the 9-16 range):

  1. Calvin 7:28.72
  2. NYU 7:30.28
  3. Bates 7:30.68
  4. Washington & Lee 7:31.15
  5. Amherst 7:31.65
  6. Middlebury 7:32.45
  7. Connecticut 7:34.00
  8. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 7:46.55

With a nearly 3-second drop, Calvin sophomores Madelyn Smith (1:52.71), Anna Serino (1:52.77), and Kendall Murphy (1:53.15), and junior Abby VanHarn (1:50.09) led the morning heats with 7:28.72.

NYU (Noel Leung, Grace Wakabayashi, Hannah Bergh, and Hannah Bub) was second with 7:30.28. Bates (Sara Daher, Logan McGill, Lucy Faust, and Monica Sears) finished third with 7:30.68.

Women’s 1-meter Diving – Prelims

  • NCAA DIII Record: 515.90 3/25/11 Danica Roskos TCNJ

 

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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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