The Denison women completed the three-day Miami Invitational in third place, holding off Division III rival, Emory down the stretch. The Big Red totaled 1,388 points while Emory ended with 1,374. Second-place belonged to Illinois with 1,704 points and the team title went to the host, Redhawks with 2,332 points. The standings were rounded out by Cincinnati in fifth, followed by Ball State, Wright State, and Urbana.
Denison's best finish on Saturday came in the first event of the night, the 200 medley relay. Carolyn Kane, Natalie Lugg, Ashley Yearwood, and Morgan Nuess posted a time of 1:42.80, finishing just .09 behind the Fighting Illini. That time was a season-best and an NCAA provisional qualifying time.
Carolyn Kane would return for a pair of sixth-place finishes in the 100 butterfly and the 100 free. In the 100 fly she touched in 56.40 which was a 'B' cut time. She would post another qualifying time in the 100 free after hitting the wall in 51.53. Yearwood followed in 11th in 51.70 while Molly Willingham took 12th in 51.83.
In addition to her second-place anchor performance in the 200 medley relay, Lugg posted strong swims in the 200 IM and the 200 breaststroke. In the 200 IM she placed seventh in 2:06.18. This morning she posted a season-best provisional qualifying time of 2:05.89 in the event. In the 200 breast, Lugg finished seventh in 2:18.80 which was also a 'B' cut time.
In the 500 freestyle, Campbell Costley and Taylor Johns placed 5-6 after times of 4:55.98 and 4:56.89, respectively. Both times were 'B' cuts, as well.
The 200 backstroke saw Willingham lead DU with a sixth-place finish and time of 2:02.64. Libby Dalziel was eighth in 2:04.18, while Lucy Roth finished 15th in 2:05.81. All three were NCAA provisional times.
On the 1-meter board, Sarah Lopez led Denison with a 6-dive total of 195.40. She placed 24th overall. Katherine Hennigan and Carrie Bookheimer followed with scores of 146.50 and 143.80, respectively.
The final event of the Invitational was the 400 free relay. Denison's team of Yearwood, Liz Kane, Mary Van Leuven, and Willingham ended up fourth in 3:27.30.
On the night, DU posted 15 'B' cut times. Over the course of the three-day meet, Denison logged four second-place finishes and 34 NCAA 'B' cuts.
