2025 NCAA DIII Championships Preview: Events and Swimmers To Watch Amidst Close Team Battles

2025 NCAA DIII Swimming and Diving Championships

• Greensboro, North Carolina
• March 19-22, 2025
• SCY (25 Yards)
• Psych Sheets
  • Men | Women
• Defending Champions: Emory Men (3x), Kenyon Women (1x)

Schedule 

Wednesday, Mar. 19th

• 500 freestyle 
• 200 IM 
• 50 freestyle 
• Men’s 3-meter diving
• 400 medley relay 

Thursday, Mar. 20th

• 400 IM 
• 100 butterfly
• 200 freestyle
• Women’s 1-meter diving
• 200 freestyle relay 

Friday, Mar. 21st 

• 200 medley relay 
• 200 butterfly
• 100 backstroke
• 100 breaststroke
• Men’s 1-meter diving
• 800 freestyle relay 

Saturday, Mar. 22nd 

• 1650 freestyle 
• 100 freestyle
• 200 backstroke
• 200 breaststroke
• Women’s 3-meter diving
• 400 freestyle relay 

2024 Top 5

Women

1. Kenyon — 448
2. Denison — 430
3. NYU — 374
4. Williams — 360
5. MIT — 344.5

Men

1. Emory — 434
2. Kenyon — 391
3. Chicago — 309
4. NYU — 282
5. Williams — 269.5

The women’s team race at the 2025 Division II Championships came down to the final relay and we could be in for more of the same at the Division III Championships. Last year, Kenton won by 18 points over NCAC rival Denison. This year, the projected scoring based on psych sheets—which excludes diving—has Kenyon repeating as champions. However, the psych sheets project that the top three teams—Kenyon, MIT, and NYU—will be within 13 points of each other. 

MIT is coming off a program-best fifth-place finish last year and has bigger aims this season. They picked up an extra confidence boost as they ranked #1 in the final CSCAA poll. But no matter what, we seem set for another nail-biting team battle in Greensboro. 

The men’s team race is projected to be a more straightforward affair, with the projected psych sheets predicting a Denison win by 173 points. The Big Red took 6th last season after missing out on a couple of key relay championship finals and it would be a moment of redemption for them to pick up this year’s trophy. Meanwhile, the psych sheets predict a close race between Emory and NYU for second place, with Chicago, Kenyon, Calvin, and CMU battling for fourth. 

Swimmers To Watch 

Women

Kaley McIntyre — Junior, NYU

• 50 freestyle: 1st seed, 22.46
• 100 freestyle: 1st seed, 48.58
• 200 freestyle: 1st seed, 1:46.15

Kaley McIntyre had a 2024 NCAA Championships for the history books, sweeping the 50/100/200 freestyle triple and setting NCAA DIII records in the former two events (22.46/48.79). Her 48.79 broke a 15-year-old record and she’s already bettered her standard twice this season, culminating in a 48.58 at the UAA Championships. 

She leads the rest of the 100 freestyle field by .92 seconds, making her the heavy favorite to defend her title. She’s seeded first in the 50 and 100 freestyle as well after season-bests of 22.62/1:46.15. Watch for her to complete another sprint freestyle sweep this week. 

Jennah Fadely — Senior, Kenyon

• 200 IM: 4th seed, 2:01.50
• 100 breast: 1st seed, 59.62
• 200 breast: 1st seed, 2:11.53

Senior Jennah Fadely was the first woman to break a Division III record this season, ripping a 59.62 100 breaststroke at Kenyon’s tri-meet against Princeton and Navy that reset KT Kustritz’s mark of 59.77 from 2018. She won this race last season and picked up the win at this year’s NCAC Championships (1:00.57). 

Fadely is part of a deep Kenyon breaststroke group that includes defending 200 breast champion Gabby Wei and owns the top three seeds in the women’s 100 breaststroke. Fadely leads in both distances (59.62/2:11.53) and is seeded fourth in the 200 IM after a lifetime best of 2:01.50 last month. 

Kate Augustyn — Senior, MIT 

• 200 IM: 3rd seed, 2:00.31
• 100 back: 1st seed, 53.29
• 200 back: 1st seed, 1:58.29

Kate Augustyn is a key part of the Engineers’ title hopes. She swept the backstrokes last season, upgrading from 2nd in the 200 back and 3rd in the 100 at the 2023 NCAA Championships. She earned her 100 backstroke title with an NCAA record which she’s already lowered to 53.29 this season leading off MIT’s 400 medley relay at NEWMACs last month. 

That swim puts her over a second ahead of the rest of the field, with Emory fifth-year Megan Jungers seeded second at 54.44. On paper, it looks like it will be a closer race in the 200 backstroke, as Augustyn is seeded just six-hundredths ahead of Sara Kraus in 1:58.23. However, Augustyn rattled Crile Hart’s NCAA DIII record (1:55.67) to win this event last year, swimming 1:55.98 and will be aiming for that mark to close out her individual NCAA Championship career. 

Men

Brayden Morford — Sophomore, Carnegie Mellon

• 200 IM: 1st seed, 1:45.89
• 100 fly: 1st seed, 46.44
• 100 back: 1st seed, 46.90

Brayden Morford made three ‘A’ finals during his freshman season, highlighted by a second-place finish in the 100 backstroke. He’s exploded this season and heads to Greensboro as the top seed in his three individual events: the 200 IM (1:45.89), 100 fly (46.44), and 100 back (46.90).

Those times are all lifetime bests; he swam the 200 IM time at the UAA Championships and the other two at the Total Performace Invitational in November. Last month, he won his first individual UAA Championship titles in the 100 back and 200 IM; now, he’ll be looking to triumph in some loaded events and win his first NCAA title.

Djordje Dragojlovic — Junior, Kenyon 

• 50 free: 5th seed, 19.99
• 100 back: 4th seed, 47.73 
• 100 free: 1st seed, 43.14 

Djordje Dragojlovic earned 57 individual points last season—second only to fifth-year Derek Maas—which makes him the highest-scoring returning male swimmer. He won two titles as a sophomore, the 100 backstroke (46.90) and 100 freestyle (43.26). 

He’ll have his hands full in all his events this season, as the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke are particularly loaded. But, he’s put himself in a strong position heading into the meet. He swept his events at the NCAC Championships and swam a lifetime best 43.14 to win the 100 freestyle. That puts him just .16 seconds off Oliver Smith’s DIII record (42.98)—a carrot that could help him defend his title against Max Cory, a junior from Bates who’s on the rise in the sprint freestyle events. 

Justin Finkel — Senior, Connecticut 

• 500 free: 9th seed, 4:26.44
• 100 fly: 2nd seed, 46.49
• 200 fly: 2nd seed, 1:44.76

Justin Finkel returns to the NCAA DIII Championships to defend his titles in the 500 freestyle and 200 butterfly. The Connecticut College senior is the DIII record holder in the latter, clocking 1:43.21 to win his title last season. 

He arrives in Greensboro as the ninth seed in the 500 freestyle after a 4:26.44 at NESCACs. That means he’ll have some work to do in the morning, but Finkel’s lifetime best (4:21.32) would push him to the top of the psych sheet. He isn’t the top seed in any of his three events, as he sits second behind Chicago’s Cooper Costello in the 200 butterfly. 

Interestingly, after a fourth-place finish in the 200 freestyle at last season’s NCAAs, Finkel—who scored 55 individual points last NCAAs—has swapped to the 100 butterfly. He swam a lifetime best 46.49 to win this year’s NESCAC Championship, ranking him second on the psych sheet and in the heart of a tight race for the title.

Events To Watch 

Women 

500 Freestyle — It seemed like cheating to just say “women’s distance” so we’ve gone with the 500 freestyle. But seriously, the women’s distance races are set to be must-watch races as Kenyon sophomore Bengisu Caymaz, the 500/1650 free defending champ, goes head-to-head with Bowdoin’s freshman phenom Natalie Garre. But we’ve gone with the 500 freestyle as there are more people involved in the party. Denison junior and returning ‘A’ finalist Quinn Brown leads the psych sheet in 4:47.51, just ahead of Garre’s 4:47.63. Both are faster than the 4:48.55 Caymaz swam to win last year and the defending champ herself is seeded fourth (4:49.76) behind teammate Molly Haag (4:49.17). 

200 IM — Last year, Sophia Verkleeren won this event by almost a second, clocking 1:59.59. This year, the Williams senior is the only woman under the 2:00 barrier so far, hitting a 1:59.00. Still, this event could get interesting with silver and bronze medalists Greta Gidley and Fadely back in the mix, along with Augustyn, the fifth-place finisher. Another returning ‘A’ finalist, Neely Burns, is further back on the psych sheet but the real wildcard here may be Emory freshman Allison Greeneway. She’s torn up Emory’s record book in this event and sits second on the psych sheet with a 2:00.28—she could be the one to join Verkleeren sub-2:00. 

200 Butterfly — In a team race projected to be as close as it is, every event matters. But each team has its strengths, and how well they execute in those events could be the difference maker for them between an NCAA team title or not. For NYU, one such event is the 200 butterfly. The Violets put four women into the championship final last season. While that may be a stretch to repeat, three are back and in ‘A’ final position. The team holds the top two seeds, with junior Nicole Ranile (1:58.64) just ahead of defending champion Caitlin Marshall (1:58.79). Sophomore Reina Gomez (2:01.83) is the Violets’ third swimmer in scoring position at 6th. Meanwhile, there will be plenty of swimmers looking to disrupt NYU’s grip on the event. Denison’s Emily Harris joins Ranile and Marshall sub-2:00 this season (1:59.93) and Elodie Mitchell (2:00.25) is another Emory freshman having a strong first collegiate season. 

Men 

50 Freestyle — The men’s 50 freestyle has gotten increasingly competitive across all divisions—not only are more swimmers involved in the action, but they’re turning heads fast times earlier in the season than ever. And even without Tobe Obochi, who owns the fastest time in the division this season, this race should be a barn burner. Five men entered in the meet have broken 20 seconds already this season: James Schwenk (19.64), Max Cory (19.66), David Bajwa (19.69), Nick Hensel (19.96), and Djordje Dragojlovic (19.99). Then, there’s another seven who have been 20.0. Plus, Cory threw down the gauntlet with the fastest 50-free split in Division III history (18.59) at NESCACs. Last year, it took 20.06 to make the championship final. It’s going to be a battle just to get into the final, nevermind mind winning the title. 

100 Butterfly — We’ve touched on this race earlier in the preview while talking about Morford and Finkel. But, we’re going to mention it again because of how loaded this field is. Morford (46.44) and Finkel (46.49) are separated by just five-hundredths at the top of the psych sheet. Right behind them are Costello (46.59) and Calvin senior David Bajwa (46.79). With four men sub-47 on the psych sheet, we could see them push each other to a Division III record, which Jesse Ssengonzi set at 46.28 to win gold last season. 

1650 Freestyle — All signs point to another showdown between CMS’ Lucas Lang and NYU’s Connor Vincent. It came down to the touch between the two last year, with Lang claiming the title in 15:17.48 to Vincent’s 15:17.55. Flash forward to this year, and though the pair are now seniors, the psych sheet is telling a familiar story. Lucas leads at 15:22.23, with Vincent second at 15:22.96. Buckle up folks, and let’s hope the live stream doesn’t take its cues from a Worlds stream and cut to commercial.