2018 NCAA Division III Women’s Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2018 NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

500 Freestyle Finals

  • NCAA Record: 4:43.37, Kendra Stern, Amherst (2011)
  1. Laura Westphal, Williams, 4:47.85
  2. Hannah Orbach-Mandel, Kenyon, 4:48.67
  3. Rebecca Upton, Emory, 4:49.12

Laura Westphal of Williams prevailed in a tight three-way race to defend her top prelim seed in 4:47.85, using a 27.65 final 50 to get by Hannah Orbach-Mandel (4:48.67) of Kenyon. Emory’s Rebecca Upton was 3rd in 4:49.12.

Kendall Vanderhoof, another Kenyon swimmer, edged out Emory’s Maria Turcanu (4:52.54 to 4:52.97) for 4th, while top seed coming into the meet Courtney Cowan ended up 8th in 4:58.88. Kenyon had a great showing all around as they also snagged the B-final win from Delaney Ambrosen (4:54.60).

200 Individual Medley Finals

  1. Crile Hart, Kenyon, 1:58.86
  2. Katherine Kustritz, Denison, 2:00.55
  3. Honore Collins, NYU, 2:01.86

After breaking the meet record in prelims, Kenyon freshman Crile Hart was dominant once again tonight to win in a time of 1:58.86. KT Kustritz of Denison closed the gap a bit on breaststroke, but ultimately settled for 2nd in 2:00.55.

Last year’s winner Honore Collins from NYU charged home in 27.91 to run down Molly Craig and take 3rd in 2:01.86. Craig of Williams was 4th in 2:02.01, and her teammate Caroline White (2:02.90) was 5th. Julia Durmer of Emory won the B-final for 9th overall in 2:02.39.

50 Freestyle Finals

  1. Fiona Muir, Emory, 22.72
  2. Emma Waddell, Williams, 22.74
  3. Kristen Petersen, Johns Hopkins, 22.96

Like in the men’s race, Fiona Muir didn’t top her record swim of 22.48 from prelims, but got the job done for the win in 22.72. She touched out Emma Waddell of Williams (22.74) by just .02, as the 1-2 finishers from last year just reverse positions.

Kristen Petersen of Johns Hopkins also snuck under 23 in 22.96 for 3rd, and Megan Taylor of Emory equalled her prelim time for 4th in 23.09. Jocelyn Crawford of Claremont snagged the B-final in 23.37.

200 Medley Relay Finals

  • NCAA Record: 1:40.58, Kenyon (2015)
  1. Emory, 1:40.12
  2. Denison, 1:40.76
  3. Johns Hopkins, 1:41.66

Like the men, Emory defends their title in the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:40.12. Cindy Cheng got them out to the lead with a 25.26 back split, and after Denison took the lead, Megan Taylor brought them in for the win with a sizzling 22.24 anchor. They clocked 1:40.12 to break Kenyon’s meet record of 1:40.58 from 2015.

Denison had Katherine Kustritz throw down the fastest breast split by almost a second in 27.12, which gave Denison the lead before Taylor sealed the deal for Emory. Johns Hopkins picked up 3rd in 1:41.66.

Emory leads the standings with 146 points, followed by Kenyon (118) and Williams (114).

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About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

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