NCAA Division III Weekend Preview: Widener Takes On Misericordia

Photo Courtesy: Misericordia Athletics

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Widener vs. Misericordia: Saturday, 11:00am

This meet between two of Pennsylvania’s Division III schools may not be on everyone’s radar but it will certainly be one to watch. The match-up will feature Widener’s All-American Ian Gaynor. At last year’s NCAA Championships, he finished fifth in the 100 free (20.35) and eleventh in the 50 free (20.35). He currently holds the top time in the nation in the 100 free from (46.54) from last week’s meet with Stevenson. And while you can expect Gaynor and his team to come out on top in the overall scores, there will be many close races to watch on both the men’s and women’s sides.

The women’s 200 medley relay may set the pace for either team on the women’s side. Their times so far this season differ by just .16 seconds; Misericordia will look to breaststroker Grace Nikolski to swim a big leg in this event.

For individual events, the 50 and 100 freestyles will likely be the most exciting to watch. Widener’s Christine Kunzler and Kaylin Augustine will take on Misericordia’s Morgan Hanadel and Sierra Schertler. Misericordia will not have the depth to contest in the 200 free relay, but they certainly have a shot at claiming these two individual swims. The other race to watch on the women’s side will be the 200 IM. Freshmen Nikolski and Jillian Bujanowski may have a crucial race in this event at the end of the meet. Bujanowski will have the upper edge in the fly and back and should hang on if she can withstand Nikolski’s breaststroke leg. Both women come in with lifetime bests within one tenth of a second of each other.

On the men’s side, Misericordia freshman Aidan Bergan may look to challenge Gaynor in the 200 free. Aside from any race featuring Gaynor, the ones to watch will certainly be the backstrokes. Aaron Green will be the swimmer to watch for Widener while transfer Josh Grzech will swim for the Cougars. Grzech will also be one to watch in the sprint freestyles. The meet could get interesting depending on what events Gaynor and Grzech end up swimming.

Three others to watch:

denison-kenyon-breaststroke

Kenyon Relays

The annual Kenyon Relays is always a meet to watch. It is essentially the opening ceremony of Division III competition as we get to see Kenyon and Denison compete for the first time. The rivalry between these two Ohio schools is a story in itself. It was a close contest at last year’s event as the Denison women beat Kenyon 120-114 while the Lords took the title 124-116. Denison’s efforts in the diving “relays” certainly gave them the upper edge last year. Swimmers to keep an eye out for include Jackson Lindell, Stuart Hohm and Campbell Costley for Denison and Arthur Conover, Ian Reardon, Julia Wilson and Marysol Arce for Kenyon. Other schools competing include: Ohio Northern, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, Wittenburg, Oberlin, Manchester University and Hiram.

Indiana D3 Invitational

This year’s meet will feature Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, DePauw, Wabash, Franklin, Manchester University and Anderson. RHIT and DePauw are typically the two highest scoring teams, as they both had swimmers at NCAAs last year. What will make this year’s competition interesting is that both teams graduated some crucial seniors. DePauw will look to Kurt Swieter to be their top scorer in the sprint events. With the graduation of All-American Orian Martin, they will need Pat King to step up in the butterfly and middle distance events. On the women’s side, senior All-American Eleanore Hong should handedly win the backstroke events for RHIT. For DePauw, Angela Newlon should do the same in the distance events. There may not be as many tight races at this invitational compared to some of the other meets around Division III this weekend, but expect some fast swims from the top end swimmers. Franklin’s Regina Solik may also be in the mix in the 50 and 100 freestyle as will Artur Schneider in the IMs and sprints.

Washington & Lee vs. Mary Washington

With 2016 NCAA 100 freestyle champion Thomas Thetford leading the way, Washington & Lee is expected to win the men’s side of this meet. Thetford swam to a 43.41 to take the event in March, and is currently the third fastest swimmer this season for Division III. ODAC 500 freestyle champion Sam Childress will take care of the distance events for Washington & Less, while Noah Schammel should be a contender in the butterfly events. Schammel’s wins won’t come easy as Mary Washington’s Dallas Tarkenton is the reigning CACC champion in both butterfly distances. Tyler Gimple and Zachary Eisig also provide great depth in the distance events for Mary Washington. On the women’s side, Mary Washington will be led by Anna Corley in the backstrokes and 200 IM. Shannon Coryell will need to step up in the sprint events after the Eagles graduated a lot of depth in this event last year. All-American Emily Rollo will add excitement to the backstroke events to challenge Corley while Isabelle Chancey should take the sprint freestyles.

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Hilary Tierney

7 years ago

So great to read these updates and outlooks! Thanks Swimming World! It also great to recognize 2 names from the Springfield , IL. area. Go SPY!