With 10 events down and 10 events to go, the Denison women find themselves trailing only Emory and Williams in the overall team standings. The Big Red have tallied 230 points through Friday night's finals in Indianapolis, Ind., while Williams sits in second with 261 points. Emory leads the field with 348 points.
DU enjoyed a solid second day at the national championship thanks to a pair of second-place finishes and two third-place finishes.
In the 200 freestyle relay, the Big Red started off the night with a runner-up time of 1:33.21 thanks to the efforts of Alyssa Swanson, Morgan Nuess, Marit Wangstad and Brenna Broadus. Nuess' 23.04 split on the second leg of the relay paced Denison.
First-year Michelle Howell followed with a runner-up finish in the 400 individual medley in 4:19.64. Teammate Emily Schroeder took third in 4:20.25 for her 10th All-America certificate and her second in the 400 IM.
Later in the 200 freestyle, the Big Red landed two swimmers in the championship final and one in the consolation. Molly Willingham became an All-American for the first time thanks to her 12th place finish while Swanson placed seventh (1:52.53) and Hilary Callen placed third in 1:50.68. For Callen this marked her 15th All-America performance and her fourth consecutive in the 200 free.
Another trio of DU swimmers scored points in the 100 butterfly as Victoria Masney led the way with an eighth-place finish while swimming in the championship heat. Masney touched in 56.30 seconds. Following in 13th and 14th place, respectively was Broadus and Laurel Brabson.
In afternoon preliminaries of the women's 1-meter dive, Denison first-year Katie Collins placed 20th after scoring a total of 338.40. Only the top 16 divers scored points and the top eight competed for a national championship.
The final event of the night was the 400 medley relay and the team comprised of Schroeder, Natalie Lugg, Brabson and Broadus placed fourth in 3:46.60. Williams won the race and set a new national record in 3:42.21.
On Friday the Big Red will compete in the 200 butterfly, the 100 backstroke, the 100 breaststroke and the 800 freestyle relay. Denison is the defending national champion in the 800 freestyle relay and they boast the nation's top time in the event, entering the championship.
Friday's preliminaries begin at 10 a.m. with finals slated to start at 6 p.m. Live video coverage of the preliminaries and the finals is being provided by the NCAA throughout the championship.
Photo by Jeff Mills
