2025 NCAA Division III Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2025 NCAA DIII Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 19-22, 2025
• Location: Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, NC
• Times: Prelims 10:00 AM / Finals 6:00 PM (ET)
• Defending Champs: Kenyon women (1x) & Emory men (3x)
• Psych Sheet
• Live Streaming on NCAA.com
• Live Results
• “NCAA DIII Championships” on Meet Mobile
• Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1

Welcome back to night 2, D3 fans! Tonight promises to be an exciting session as the team race heats up.

To kick off the night, Sophia Verkleeren (Williams) asserted herself atop the women’s 400 IM prelims. She’ll be on the hunt for an IM sweep at these championships after picking up her third straight title in the 200 IM on night 1. The senior looks to be in a league of her own, but if anyone could pull a surprise upset it might be Bowdoin’s Natalie Garre (Bowdoin) who has had a stellar freshman campaign, including a title in the 500 free. Verkleeren and men’s top seed Sean Lyman (Coast Guard) both became the #10 all-time performer in their respective events this season. Lyman faces a challenge from Kenyon’s Kirill Sidorko, who qualified within a second in prelims.

The next two events on the women’s side will be key to NYU’s hunt for a team title. The Violets put three in the A final of the 100 fly, and five total finalists in the 200 free. NYU junior Kaley McIntyre leads the 200 free and is the #2 performer in D3 history. She has a ways to go to crack another Kendra Stern record, but with almost three seconds over the rest of the field she seems likely to add another title tonight. MIT is the other team on the hunt for a women’s team title. The Engineers saw a huge performance from sophomore Sydney Smith, who dropped over a second to top the prelims of the 100 fly.

The national record looks endangered in the men’s 100 fly. Three men posted 46-point swims this morning, led by Cooper Costello (Chicago) who hit a lifetime best to come within two-tenths of former Chicago teammate Jesse Ssengonzi’s winning time from 2024. Costello was disqualified in that same final last year, so he will be hunting for redemption.

Women’s 1-meter diving will be contested tonight, where Chicago put all four of their athletes into the final. The preliminary rounds were led by Ithaca College’s Kailee Payne, who swept the boards last year.

The night ends with the 200 free relay. The MIT women are the top seed and will look to add a second relay title at these championships. The Kenyon men are in position to defend their title from last year with a relatively young squad that features two freshmen.

Women’s 400 Yard IM – Finals

• Division III Record: 4:13.14, Caroline Wilson (Williams), 2012
• 2024 Champion: 4:15.67, Neely Burns (Trinity U.)

Top 8:

1. Sophia Verkleeren (Williams) – 4:11.23 Division III Record
2. Natalie Garre (Bowdoin) – 4:16.59
3. Emily Harris (Denison) – 4:18.40
4. Quinn Weygandt (Swarthmore) – 4:20.51
5. Sarah Bernard (MIT) – 4:21.17
6. Bethany Spangler (NYU) – 4:21.68
7. Meredith Liu (Emory) – 4:23.27
8. Neely Burns (Trinity U) – 4:24.11

Sophia Verkleeren (Williams) put on a master class in the women’s 400 IM to claim her first career national record and her first national title in the event. The former record was set by another Eph swimmer, Caroline Wilson, back in 2012.

Comparing the two swims, the difference was Verkleeren’s breaststroke leg. She was over two seconds faster than Wilson on the third leg.

Verkleeren led from start to finish, showing no weakness in any of the four legs. Her first three legs were the fastest in the field. Last night’s 500 champion Natalie Garre (Bowdoin) split 57.88 coming home, but it wasn’t enough to close the nearly eight second gap Verkleeren had built on the field.

Emily Harris (Denison) rounded out the top three. There was a close finish between Quinn Weygandt (Swarthmore), Sarah Bernard (MIT), and Bethany Spangler (NYU). 2024 champion Neely Burns (Trinity U) couldn’t quite catch up to Meredith Liu (Emory) as the junior settled for 8th.

Calista Lynch (NYU) won a close race in the B final (4:23.77), picking up key points for the Violets as they hunt for the team title.

Men’s 400 Yard IM – Finals

• Division III Record: 3:46.62, Harrison Curley (Kenyon), 2015
• 2024 Champion: 3:51.84, Crow Thorsen (Emory)

Top 8:

1. Kirill Sidorko (Kenyon) – 3:48.75
2. Max Nechydyuk (NYU) – 3:49.45
3. Sean Lyman (Coast Guard) – 3:51.31
4. Marco Minai (WashU) – 3:51.84
5. Grant Hu (MIT) – 3:51.90
6. Ryan Higgins (TCNJ) – 3:52.21
7. Ethan Manske (Kenyon) – 3:53.68
8. Kevin Fitzgerald (Grinell) – 3:56.02

The men’s 400 IM was a much closer affair than the women’s event, but Kenyon junior Kirill Sidorko emerged victorious over a tight field. Sidorko improved his best time by over 1.5-seconds.

The field went out near even, with Sidorko holding a slight lead after the fly leg (51.37). The field started to close on him in the backstroke, as Max Nechydyuk moved into a slight lead. Sidorko fought back in the breaststroke, as the pair turned within 0.05-seconds of each other going into the final leg.

The field came back fast, but it wasn’t enough to catch Sidorko, who stopped the clock in 3:48.75. Nechydyuk also dipped under the 3:50 barrier, turning in 3:49.45. Sidorko’s time jumps him to 6th all-time in D3, leapfrogging Nechydyuk’s time from the Denison Invite last fall.

Sean Lyman (Coast Guard) held off a charge from Marco Minai (WashU) for 3rd. Minai passed MIT freshman Grant Hu down the stretch, splitting 52.14 for the fastest free leg of the field.

Victor Derani (NYU) won the B final, pulling past senior teammate Jaeden-Hans Yburan in the final 50 (3:53.96).

Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly – Finals

• Division III Record: 52.64, Kirsten Nitz (Wheaton), 2014
• 2024 Champion: 53.47, Samantha Kilcoyne (Williams)

Top 8:

1. Sydney Smith (MIT) – 53.96
2. Nicole Ranile (NYU) – 54.06
3. Phoebe Ferguson (Denison) – 54.24
4. Hope Xayaveth (NYU) – 54.26
5. Alex Turvey (MIT) – 54.27
6. Sun Young Byun (CMS) – 54.78
7. Maggie Farrell (Calvin) – 54.95
8. Reina Gomez (NYU) – 55.14

MIT’s Sydney Smith was slightly off her morning swim, but was still the only swimmer to break 54 seconds as she clinched her first individual national title (53.96). The sophomore was out in 24.82, the only swimmer to open under 25 seconds. Nicole Ranile (NYU) attempted to run her down in the back half, but Smith had built enough of a lead to win by exactly a tenth.

Phoebe Ferguson (Denison) led a tight finish (54.24) as she was closely followed by NYU’s Hope Xayaveth (54.26) and MIT’s Alex Turvey (54.27).

Elizabeth Pennington won the B final from lane 8, clocking 54.77.

Men’s 100 Yard Butterfly – Finals

• Division III Record: 46.28, Jesse Ssengonzi (Chicago), 2024
• 2024 Champion: 46.28, Jesse Ssengonzi (Chicago)

Top 8:

1. Cooper Costello (Chicago) – 45.97 Division III Record
2. David Bajwa (Calvin) – 46.54
3. Justin Finkel (Connecticut College) – 46.56
4. Brayden Morford (CMU) – 46.58
5. Matt Fritz (W&L) – 47.25
6. Avery Clapp (JHU) – 47.31
7. Dylan Yin (Emory) – 47.65
8. Cami Wilson (Swarthmore) – 47.81

One year after being disqualified for a false start in this event, Cooper Costello is a new national champion and a D3 record holder. The Chicago sophomore brought the record sub-46, opening and closing faster than his teammate did last year.

Costello led start to finish, clearing his competitors by over half a second. It was a tight finish for 2nd through 4th as they were separated by just 0.04-seconds. David Bajwa (Calvin) led the charge (46.54), followed by Justin Finkel and Brayden Morford.

Roman Savage of Kenyon won the B final (47.37).

Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:44.82, Kendra Stern (Amherst), 2011
• 2024 Champion: 1:46.05, Kaley McIntyre (NYU)

Top 8:

1. Kaley McIntyre (NYU) – 1:44.88
2. Molly Haag (Kenyon) – 1:48.43
3. Penelope Helm (Emory) – 1:48.59
4. Ella Roberson (MIT) – 1:49.42
5. Karen Zhao (Chicago) – 1:49.51
6. Quinn Brown (Denison) – 1:49.65
7. Aanya Wala (NYU) – 1:50.07
8. Katherine Swan (Emory) – 1:50.31

To no one’s surprise, Kaley McIntyre took control of this race from start to finish. The junior opened her race in 24.56, over half a second faster than her closest competitor. She continued to push the pace, flipping at the 100 in 51.15. The question then became whether she would take a run at the national record, which sat over a second faster than her best time coming into these championships.

McIntyre continued to extend her lead, splitting 26.92/26.81 to come up just six-hundredths short of Kendra Stern’s record from 2011. Still, her time of 1:44.88 cleared the field by over three seconds, and made her the second woman in D3 history to go sub-1:46.

There was a tight race for 2nd, as Kenyon’s Molly Haag and Emory’s Penelope Helm duked it out. Helm had the lead at the 150, but Haag split 27.54 coming home to touch first by just 0.16 seconds.

MIT’s Ella Roberson moved up from her 5th place finish last year, touching 4th ahead of Chicago’s Karen Zhao and Quinn Brown (Denison).

Bengisu Caymaz swam 1:49.16 to win the B final, a time that would have finished 4th overall. She was 4th in this event last year.

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:34.74, James McChesney (TCNJ), 2023
• 2024 Champion: 1:34.95, James McChesney (TCNJ)

Top 8:

1. Colin Twiss (Coast Guard) – 1:35.68
2. Jack Hill (Denison) – 1:35.82
3. John Butler (Chicago) – 1:36.58
4. Nathaniel Taft (Hamilton) – 1:36.95
5. Dalton Jobe (W&L) – 1:37.17
6. Oliver Schalet (Williams) – 1:37.49
7. Nathan Kim (MIT) – 1:39.41
8. Sebi Vernhes (Chicago) – 1:40.28

Colin Twiss (Coast Guard) was on a mission in the men’s 200 freestyle. The senior opened his race in 21.86 for the fastest split in the field. He continued to push the pace through the next 100 as he pulled away from the field.

Twiss started to pay for his early speed in the final 50, and for a moment it looked as if Jack Hill (Denison) would catch him in the closing meters. But Twiss had built up enough of a lead to get his hand on the wall first, becoming the 4th fastest performer in D3 history in the process (1:35.68).

Hill’s time slots in as #6 all-time (1:35.82).

John Butler (Chicago) rounded out the top three, improving his prelims time by just under a second (1:36.58). He was followed closely by Nathaniel Taft (Hamilton), who clocked 1:36.95.

Emory’s Hayden Tupper won a tight race in the B final, coming out on top with a time of 1:37.92. The next six swimmers were separated by less than six tenths of a second.

Women’s 1-Meter Diving — Finals

• Division III Record: 515.90, Danica Roskos (TCNJ), 2011
• 2024 Champion: 515.15, Kailee Payne (Ithaca)

Top 8:

1. Kailee Payne (Ithaca) – 486.30
2. Abigail Wilkov (CWRU) – 470.75
3. Nina Schwab (Carleton) – 438.20
4. Sydney Bluestein (Amherst) – 433.75
5. Fiora Beratahani (MIT) – 426.45
6. Ariana Khan (Emory) – 424.25
7. Issara Schmidt (NYU) – 417.40
8. Sumiye Allen (Chicago) – 399.00

Kailee Payne repeated as national champion in 1-meter. She was followed by Abigail Wilkov, who improved from her 7th place finish last year. First-year Nina Schwab rounded out the top three.

Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:30.39, Kenyon (A. White, S. Geboy, C. Hart, E. Mirus), 2022
• 2024 Champion: 1:31.54, Pomona-Pitzer (S. Wang, A. Turvey, F. Coppo, V. Mello)

Top 8:

1. MIT (Turvey, Smith, Roberson, Naveen) – 1:30.00 Division III Record
2. Pomona-Pitzer (Coppo, Lee, Pelka, Mello) – 1:31.48
3. Denison (Vogen, Ferguson, Palmroos, Kadlecik) – 1:31.54
4. Kenyon (Eisenbeis, Fadely, Geboy, Torrecillas-Jouault) – 1:31.92
5. Emory (Kennedy, Crysel, Boorjian, Wendt) – 1:31.98
6. Hope (Gidley, Ryle, Turner, Wasiniak) – 1:31.99
7. NYU (Xayaveth, McIntyre, Uchino, Oldham) – 1:32.26
8. Calvin (Farrell, Bengelink, Merkel, Sonday) – 1:32.38

The MIT women are two-for-two in relay wins so far at these championships. After a close finish in the 400 medley last night, the squad of Alex Turvey (22.84), Sydney Smith (22.81), Ella Roberson (22.11), and Annika Naveen (22.24) were absolutely dominant to take home the 200 free relay crown (1:30.00). The quartet smashed the national record set by Kenyon three years ago, nearly breaking the 1:30 barrier in the process. The entire relay threw down 22-point splits.

With that, Turvey becomes a two-time national champion in this event, though she represented Pomona-Pitzer last year. Her former teammates finished in the runner-up position, beating their 2024 winning time in the process. Francesca Coppo (22.95), Joy Lee (23.17), Chesna Pelka (23.16), and Valerie Mello (22.20) held off Denison, who exactly matched the winning time from last year. The Big Red’s quartet consisted of Avery Vogen (23.19), Phoebe Ferguson (22.92), Maja Palmroos (23.04), and Grace Kadlecik (22.39).

Though NYU finished 7th overall, Kaley McIntyre dropped the fastest split of the field (21.96). She was second in the Violets’ lineup.

Chicago won the B final (1:32.61).

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay – Finals

• Division III Record: 1:18.06, Kenyon (D. Somers, Z. Turk, I. Richardson, C. Ramsey), 2012
• 2024 Champion: 1:19.19, Kenyon (D. Dragojlovic, D. Brooks, M. Krtinic, A. Dobric)

Top 8:

1. Chicago (Tang, Kruep, Benderskii, Vernhes) – 1:18.51
2. NYU (Downs, Watanakun, Young, Wehbe) – 1:19.03
3. Calvin (Bajwa, Molin, Seidelman, Platt) – 1:19.36
4. CMU (Morford, Peitler, Jones, Deshpande) – 1:19.51
5. Denison (Hill, Daly, Beduschi, Hensel) – 1:19.57
6. Kenyon (Dragolovic, Abrahamson, Stluka, Dunson) – 1:19.62
7. Emory (Yin, Bradshaw, Lahmann, Bjornstad) – 1:20.14
8. RIT (Atanasoff, Noga, Clancy, Scheib) – 1:21.05

Chicago got within half a second of the national record to end the night. Jonathan Tang (20.23), Rylan Kruep (19.75), Igor Benderskii (19.24), and Sebastien Vernhes (19.29) teamed up to top the field (1:18.51).

Defending champions Kenyon got out to an early lead thanks to Djordje Dragolovic (19.80), but the Owls couldn’t keep pace and settled for 6th overall. NYU took 2nd for the second year in a row. The Violets were powered by Pierce Downs (20.17), Ajay Watanakun (19.57), Derek Young (19.88), and Greg Wehbe (19.41).

Calvin rounded out the top three, led by David Bajwa (19.91), Vlad Molin (20.05), Josh Seidelman (19.81), and Charles Platt (19.59).

Team Scores Through Day 2

Women (Top 10)

1. NYU – 242
2. MIT – 216
3. Denison – 175
4. Kenyon – 173
5. Emory – 172
6. Chicago – 93
7. Williams – 89
8. Pomona-Pitzer – 66
9. Hope – 64
10. Swarthmore – 53

Men (Top 10)

1. Denison – 166
2. Kenyon – 126
3. Chicago – 124
4. NYU – 121.5
5. Emory – 116.5
6. CMU – 105
7. Calvin – 88
8. Centre – 60
9. MIT – 59
10. Connecticut College – 58