Division III Meet of the Week: Williams Women Take on MIT

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Two of the top 10 teams from last year’s NCAA Championships will face off Friday night at 3:00 as the Williams women take on MIT. The Ephs will look to carry on their impressive 8-0 record so far this season. In previous years, the meet has had fluctuating scores. Last year, Williams came out on top 213.5-80.5, while in 2015 it was a much closer 167-130. On paper, it appears that MIT just does not have the studs to compete with those of Williams. Regardless, anytime two top-10 teams face off you are going to see some fast times posted and a few NCAA-previews.

Meet of the Week: Williams Women Take on MIT

Last season, Williams finished third at NCAAs while MIT placed ninth. The latest CSCAA poll has the Ephs in fourth and MIT in ninth.

veronika-jedryka-mit-newmac-backstroke

Photo Courtesy: MIT Athletics

Top Six Races to Watch

  • 100/200 Back

    Senior Olivia Jackson is no stranger to pressure in the 100 and 200 backstroke. After leading off the Eph’s second-place 400 medley relay and taking runner-up honors in the 200 back at last year’s NCAA Championships, there is no one Williams could want behind the blocks besides Jackson. Her wins will not come that easy Friday night, especially with the variables of winter training wrapping up and classes beginning. Really, anything can happen as she will go head to head with MIT’s Veronika Jedryka who has experienced her own fair share of close races. The women placed tenth and twelfth at NCAAs last year in the 100, and Jedryka finished seventh in 200. Expect Jackson to take the 200 distance, her signature event, but do not count out Jedryka in the 100. Jedryka is currently over a full second faster than Jackson so far this season in the 100, but Jackson will not go down without a fight.

  • 100/200 Breast

    Both Jessica Chen of MIT (1:03.68) and Caroline White of Williams (1:03.88) are currently in the top 11 in the national rankings so far this season. Chen has two years of NCAA experience under her belt, after narrowly missing the B-final in both breaststroke events last year. Her 1:03 from December is a lifetime best and she will likely swim a 1:06 this weekend. Freshman White swam a 1:04.5 last weekend and has a 1:01.68 lifetime best from high school. The women are separated by .23 seconds this season in the 200, but White can consistently swim a 2:20 or 2:21 in dual meet competition. Chen will be in the mix but these two races should ultimately go to White.

  • 50 Free

    Jedryka will be at it again for the Engineers in the 50 free. She will be taking on seven-time All American Emma Waddell of Williams. Jedryka has had a lot of success in this event at a variety of meets. Both women typically swim 24-mid in dual meet, non-suited competition, so it really could go either way with this one. If Waddell is fresh, (not competing in the 200 free) she may take the win after Jedryka battles Jackson for the 100 back. Waddell would then most likely compete in the 100 free and 100 fly. The latter two events will be easier wins for Waddell and would make the most sense since the Ephs have the NCAA runner-up in this event, Lauren Jones. The reality of this race is that even a tired Veronika Jedryka can post at least a 24.6. Waddell has posted anywhere from 23.8 to 24.5 in her races this season, so this one is really up in the air.

  • 500 Free

    Rounding out the list of Eph superstars is senior Megan Pierce. Her 5:02.59 from two weeks ago fits between the Engineer distance duo of Mary Thiekling (5:02.48) and Adelaide Chambers (5:02.77). It is likely that all three women will swim this event. The MIT Women will need to be under 5:10 if they want to be near Pierce in this race. This is faster than either has gone in a dual meet this season, but both women have the experience to hang with the leader in a close match-up. Again, in the end it appears that this one will go to the Ephs.

Men’s Races to Keep an Eye On

dougie-kogut-mit-newmac-butterfly

Photo Courtesy: MIT Athletics

While the women’s meet will be closer in score, the men’s meet will still provide some close races. Here are the top three races to watch on the men’s side:

  • 1000 Free

    Williams freshman Andrew Trunsky swam a 9:49.24 in an early December dual meet against Boston College. Matt Woicik of MIT, also a freshman, took out his 1,650 at the MIT Invitational in a 9:52.94. It will be interesting to see the two in a head-to-head battle in the middle of January, and without Woicik having to swim another 650 yards after. Trunsky has the slower dual meet swim so far this season (10:03.23 from last weekend) while Woicik stands at 9:57.93 from early November.

  • 100 Back

    The real showdown of the meet will come in the 100 back, as this event is historic in its own right for both teams. Williams’ Benjamin Lin has already placed fourth, first and second in this event at the NCAA Championships. At last year’s NCAAs, Williams went 1-6-14 while MIT placed 3-9-10. This event is always a good one for both teams. This year, the Ephs will be led by Lin (49.79 this season) who will battle a trio of Engineer backstrokers. Bouke Edskes (49.28), Daniel Smith (49.44) and Tim Kralij (49.90) all rank in the top 16 so far this season. Any of these four could take the win, giving us a true preview of what’s to come in March.

  • 100 Fly

    Lin will have his hands full again in the 100 fly, as he will take on the Engineer’s Dougie Kougat who won this event at the MIT Invitational in 49.21. Kogut currently ranks ninth in this event, and despite being slower than Lin at NCAAs last year, definitely has a chance to win this one Friday night. He will have to step up and have a big swim as Lin is likely to swim a 50-mid or 51 low.

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