Division III Weekly Preview: 4 Swimmers to Watch Before Conferences Commence

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With conference championships on the horizon and most intra-conference dual meet match ups completed, this weekend will be a bit quiet for division III swimming and diving. The majority of teams have the weekend off, while some teams will compete in smaller conference meets that are necessary for their institution.

Even with a small selection of meets this weekend, there are still a handful of nationally-ranked swimmers getting some last-minute tune up swims in before their big races in a few weeks. Specifically, keep an eye out for the following 4 swimmers to watch who all own top 20 times so far this season:

Emily Medeiros – Springfield College

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Photo Courtesy: Springfield Athletics

Medeiros and the Springfield Pride will take on Holy Cross Friday night at 6:00 p.m. Medeiros currently ranks ninth in the 100 breast (1:03.77) and twentieth in the 200 breast (2:20.72). Medeiros is no stranger to being at the top of the rankings in these events, as she finished fourth in the 100 and sixth in the 200 at last year’s NCAA Championships. Her times from December of this year were just off what she went last season at this point, so expect to see Medeiros claim another pair of All-American titles come March.

This week, the senior will not find any issues winning her signature events, but will be challenged by Holy Cross’ Maura Mullaney in either the 100 fly, 200 fly or both. The Pride has enough depth to win the breaststrokes without Medeiros, so she may be utilized in the fly events. She is about three tenths faster than Mullaney in the 100 distance, and has plenty of racing experience in this event to take the win. If put in the 200, she will have a much tougher battle against Mullaney’s 2:10.71. Granted, this is a rested time while Medeiros has posted a 2:15 in a dual meet. Either match-up will be a good one to watch as Medeiros does not give wins away easily.

Hope Walsh – Keene State College

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Photo Courtesy: Keene State Swimming

While Walsh may not have the NCAA experience of Medeiros, she will be a force this weekend at Saturday’s Little East Conference Championships. Walsh already holds the conference record in the 500 freestyle, and will be looking to add the 1,000 freestyle to that list. While she sits just outside the top 20 rankings in this event (21st – 10:30.78) from her mile split in December, she currently ranks fifteenth in the 1,650 (17:21.95).

While she will have to wait a few more weeks to go after the mile, it will be interesting to see Walsh race a suited 1,000 on it’s own. It will take a 10:27.89 to match her ranking in the mile, which would set her up well to take a shot at qualifying for this year’s NCAA Championships. Walsh’s efforts will help Keene State go after their eleventh-straight Little East Conference title, so expect Walsh to be ready to race.

Anna Moore – Albion College

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Photo Courtesy: Albion Athletics

Moore and the Albion Britons will take on Olivet at 6:00 p.m. on Friday night. She currently ranks seventeenth in the 100 backstroke (57.24), one of the three events she competed in at last year’s NCAA Championships as a freshman. This time is already faster than what she swam at NCAAs last year, and is just off her best (56.65) from last season’s MIAAs. She has consistently raced under 1:00 in dual meets in this event this season.

Moore should not see any stiff competition in the backstroke events this weekend, but if she does swim them she will look to keep improving her 200 back time. Her best so far is 2:10.52, which is just around what she was swimming last year before going 2:03.95 at MIAAs. She will be looking to dip back under the 2:10 mark as her team will most likely take the meet.

Maddie Kauahi – Pomona Pitzer Colleges

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Photo Courtesy: Pomona-Pitzer Athletics

Kauahi and her team will travel to Claremont Mudd Scripps on Saturday morning for competition at 10:30 a.m. Kauahi is currently twelfth in the 50 free at 23.60. This is just .18 off the time that earned her Honorable Mention All-America honors last season as a freshman. She did not swim the 100 free at her December invitational, but she did swim a 52.95 in a dual meet against Redlands in November. She did not swim that fast in the 100 until February of last year.

While she is likely to win the 50 against Claremont Mudd Scripps on Saturday, she may be challenged in the 100 and 200 distances if she swims them. CMS’ Lauren Rosenberger will be Kauahi’s top challenger in the 200, while teammate Stephanie Doi will do the same in the 100. All three swimmers posted their top times in these events at dual meets throughout the season, so these wins are really up in the air; each race could go either way.

Each of these swimmers could move their way up the rankings and help their teams to victory this weekend. After that, conference championships will be under way and swimmers and divers will be chasing selection for the 2017 NCAA Championships. Keep an eye out for these 4 swimmers to watch starting Friday and ending in March.

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