Nov 2, 2013
When it comes to duels in the pool, watching two of the top teams in Division III face off against one another is always a treat. The Lords and Ladies hosted Big Red Saturday morning. On the women’s side, Big Red pulled away courtesy of two relay victories and exceptional depth in their sprinters, finishing the meet at 164-136. The men’s side was just as tight, and came down to the final relay – which Big Red won, giving them the victory at 153.5-146.5.
The Ladies’ meet began with a disqualification in their winning relay, setting them back from the outset. For the Big Red women, it was only the beginning. The 200 medley relay team of Molly Willingham, Natalie Lugg, Ashley Yearwood and Carolyn Kane finished in a time of 1:47.04 to secure the top spot. Willingham went on to win the 200 freestyle (1:56.19) and anchor Denison’s winning 400 freestyle relay (3:30.98) to cinch the victory. Yearwood, Kane and Morgan Nuess joined her in that relay. Kane also won the 50 freestyle (23.95) and the 100 freestyle (52.53) where Denison went 1-2 and 1-2-3, respectively. Other top finishes for the Big Red women include Lucy Roth who took first in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:09.18, Krysta Garbarino finishing in 58.08 – good for a first place 100 butterfly, and Michelle Howell taking the win in the 400 individual medley with a 4:37.17.
The Ladies had their share of event winners as well, though even six victories by three individual swimmers wasn’t enough to turn the tide. Diver Maria Zarka swept the diving events, capturing the one meter with a score of 239.20 and the three meter in 295.00 – over 100 points ahead of the second place finisher. Katie Kaestner picked up victories for the Ladies in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.09) and 200 breaststroke (2:23.73) and Mariah Williamson finished first in the 1000 freestyle (10:21.01) and the 200 butterfly (2:07.17). The other first for the Ladies was a 58.79 from Rachel Flinn, good for the top finish in the 100 backstroke.
On the men’s side of the meet, it was a tight race from the outset. The Lords had to contend with a 32-6 deficit in diving scores courtesy of Denison’s Connor Digan, Connor Dorff and Ben Lewis going 1-2-3 in both one and three meter. The Lords and Big Red came in deadlocked at 142.5-142.5 at the last event – the 400 freestyle relay. Kenyon’s Austin Caldwell led off for the Lords, building a lead of three tenths over Denison’s Carlos Maciel. Spencer Fronk (Denison) managed to upend that lead by half a second as he raced Kenyon’s Percy Gates. Wes Manz of Kenyon rallied to bring the Lords within .05 of their rivals, but ultimately Denison’s Conrad Wuorinen managed to hold off Kenyon’s anchor leg Joey Duronio for victory in 3:04.24. The Lords finished seven tenths behind for second place.
The lead up to that relay was just as exciting, featuring a back and forth between the Big Red men and the Lords throughout the meet. Caldwell in particular showed his mettle, taking wins in the 100 freestyle (46.39) by .03 and in the 200 freestyle (1:41.63) by almost two seconds. Lords freshman Trevor Manz was also impressive, giving the Lords wins in the 200 breaststroke in 2:05.84 and the 400 individual medley, touching at 4:02.61.
Rivalries abounded throughout the meet, on an individual level as well as the larger team competition. Kenyon’s Andrew Chevalier and Joe Guilfoyle both boasted victories over Denison’s three-time defending champion miler Al Weik. Chevalier went 9:37.93 in the 1000 freestyle to secure the victory and Guilfoyle finished first in the 500, out-touching the Denison senior by a bare .03 seconds. The other two event winners for the Lords included freshman Ian Reardon who won the 200 butterfly in 1:55.52 and Harrison Curley who came out victorious in the 200 backstroke, finishing in 1:51.81.
Denison sported six individual event wins – four, not including the diving events. These wins were earned by Sean Chabot in the 100 backstroke, finishing ta 51.40; Damon Rosenburg in the 100 breaststroke, touching at 56.68; Ryan Fleming taking the 50 freestyle in 21.15; and Andrew Rich who captured the win in the 100 fly at 50.95.
Complete meet results can be found here.
The Lords and Ladies return to the water November 16th at home, facing off against Ohio Northern University. The Big Red has a month-long interlude before they face off in the Miami University Invitational December 5-7.
