NCAA Division III Preview: Denison vs. Kenyon Showdown Set for Saturday

PHOENIX, Arizona, October 31. ONE of the great rivalries in Division III will resume this weekend as Denison travels to Kenyon to take on their conference rivals in a head-to-head dual meet.

On the women’s side, either Kenyon or Denison (or both) have finished in the top two at Division III NCAAs for 30 of the 32 NCAA Championships, dating back to 1982. On five occasions, the two-schools finished 1-2. The Kenyon and/or Denison men have finished in the top two at NCAAs 35 times, with six of the last eight titles going to one of the two schools (Kenyon has won six titles and Denison two in that time span). It’s safe to say that the NCAA title hopes of either school go through their rival.

At last year’s dual meet, the Denison women came out ahead by two points, while the Denison men were victorious by 16. The two teams have already clashed this season, with the Denison women and Kenyon men taking first at the Kenyon Relays. The Denison women beat Kenyon by just two points, while the Kenyon men finished four points ahead of Denison to take the men’s title. Needless to say, it should be an extremely close dual meet on Saturday.

On Saturday, the women’s meet could be decided in the freestyle events, where Denison has two swimmers ranked first in the nation in the 50, 100, 200 and 1,650. Freshman Carolyn Kane has the fastest time in the country in the 50 and 100, while teammate Campbell Costley has the best times in the 200 and mile. A Denison sweep of those four events could seal the deal. The men’s squads are very evenly matched, with neither school having a clear advantage in any stroke or distance.

Washington University and DePauw, ranked fourth and seventh in Division III, respectively, by Collegeswimming.com, will battle in St. Louis on Saturday. DePauw’s Caroline Bridges enters the weekend with the third best time in the 100 free at 52.94, while freshman Angela Newton is second in the 200 free (1:55.43) and first in the 500 (5:04.04). Washington University’s Amanda Stademann (100 fly, 58.96) and Anh Chi Pham (200 IM, 2:11.51) should have a shot at big points as well. In the men’s meet, DePauw’s freestyle corps of Blake Lehmann and Casey Hooker will have their hands full with Washington University’s Justin Morrell, Paul Huang and Zane Turpin.

Carnegie Mellon, ranked fifth in Division III by Collegeswimming.com, will host Clarion on Saturday. CMU has several swimmers ranked in the top 15 nationally that will be looking to move up in the rankings. Freshman Gillian Crews is ranked fourth in the women’s 100 fly (58.73), while Soleil Phan is ninth in the 200 fly (2:13.37) and 200 IM (2:13.59). On the men’s side, Evan Li (200 free, 1:44.27; 7th), Andrew Yee (500 free, 4:46.42, 8th and 1,000 free, 9:52.06, 3rd) and Dave Campbell (200 fly, 1:55.43, 2nd) will be counted on for big points as well.

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