It’s the wee hours before the next session begins for the DIII NCAA championship, but let’s take a look at how the scores stack up so far.
Men’s Team Scores Through 19
- Denison 282
- Kenyon 272
- Emory 153
- JHU 130
- MIT 102
- TCNJ 101
- CMS 91
- CHicago 85
- Keene St 80
- St Olaf 77
Clearly the men’s meet is really only close between Kenyon and Denison for the top spot, but there really is a race going on downstairs for third. Emory’s men have put together some truly stellar relays at this meet, and with the way they’ve been putting themselves out there, I’d say they have the best shot at third, with JHU taking fourth. On the Kenyon-Denison front… Well. The two strongest events for both teams have yet to come up: the mile has four top sixteen Lords with only two Big Red men entered, and only one of those in point scoring position currently. 1 meter diving, on the other hand, should go Denison’s way – and the additional points from four competitors (with Dignan assumed to take the crown, and Lewis or Levy right behind him) could shift the balance in Big Red’s favor. If Denison doesn’t start getting all of its relays in the A final though from here on out… Well, Kenyon might make a case for itself being the top dog for another year.
Women’s Team Scores Through 20
- Emory 273
- JHU 232
- Kenyon 213
- Denison 208
- Williams 140
- Amherst 100
- Wash U 82
- Gustavus 79
- Wheaton 62
- MIT 59
On the women’s side, I’ve got a case of “OMG what happened this year?” Yes, at midseason I predicted that JHU was going to have a great year at NCAAs, and that they’d be sitting in second place, but still. Thinking it and seeing it in the flesh and blood reality is another thing altogether. Bogdanovski, Kitayama, Rinsma, Ternes, Fox, Brown – there is not a woman on that team who is not swimming out of her mind this meet. Even if JHU doesn’t pull off the upset (and they’re only 41 points back – that’s two victories or one more top relay), they are still going to set school history by finishing higher than they ever have before. (Last year their fifth place finish tied the top finish for the school.) Emory seems to be a little of their game this year. They are still operating on their base strategy of getting people to come back for swims, but the flash of event wins has eluded them so far at this meet. The Eagle relays – which were once the terror of every sprinting heart – haven’t been there this year either. Emory took a hit from last year’s graduating class, and right now it seems only the power of the program is keeping them in the lead right now. For Kenyon, the Ladies have brought a lot of bodies, but not all of them are in scoring position. Many of these women were last minute qualifiers, and not the typical Kenyon fare. Yes, Kenyon is known for “stepping it up” but it’s also a very, very young team (seven freshman). Regardless, they’ve done some good work with relays, consistently being ahead of arch-rivals Denison, And Denison – well, these women are all experienced at a very high level. With only two freshman, there’s not the same issue of wondering who may – or may not – perform up to par. Everyone has been swimming just a little off, too. Maybe now that we’re well into the meet, we’ll start seeing the promise of Kane and Costley, and it’s possible Howell will get her sub 2 in the 200 fly today as well.
