Denison erased a four-point deficit on Friday evening and will take an 8.5-point lead over rival Kenyon into the final day of the 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference Championship at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio.
Denison kicked off Friday night's finals by winning 200 medley relay for the sixth-straight year. Maddie Armitage, Natalie Lugg, Ashley Yearwood and Morgan Nuess swam a season-best time of 1:43.79. The foursome's performance was an improvement on their previous 'B' cut.
In addition to being part of the victorious 200 medley relay, Lugg also captured her first NCAC championship in the 100 breast after finishing second the last two years. The junior won her first individual title with a 'B' cut time of 1:04.96. Trailing Lugg were first-year Marissa Bednarek and Armitage. Bednarek touched in at 1:05.97 en route to a third-place finish. In the prelim, the rookie posted a season-best 'B' cut time of 1:05.85. Armitage was seventh after checking in at 1:08.56.
Senior Alyssa Swanson picked up her 17th overall NCAC crown and fourth-straight title in the 200 freestyle on Friday. Swanson completed the race in 1:51.44, 32 hundredths of a second ahead of Kenyon's Hillary Yarosh. Rookie Mary Van Leuven posted a season-best 'B' cut time of 1:53.01 en route to a fifth-place finish. Nuess won the consolation heat with a time of 1:55.86, while Mary Cullen finished tied for 10th after clocking in at 1:55.92.
Less than 24 hours removed from capturing her first conference title in the 200 I.M., Michelle Howell recorded her second championship crown and meet record. The sophomore bested DU grad Emily Schroeder's conference mark in the 400 I.M. with a time of 4:21.42. Also helping the Big Red cause were first-year Taylor Johns and sophomore Meghan Bagley, who both logged 'B' cut performances. Johns placed fourth with a time of 4:29.53, while Bagley's time of 4:30.76 was a season best.
First-year diver Kelly Frazier picked up her second NCAC title after winning the 1-meter diving event on Friday night. In addition to winning her second conference crown, Frazier also qualified for the NCAA Diving Regional after totaling a final score of 438.65. Sterling Keiser took sixth place after scoring 324.10 points.
In the 100 butterfly, rookie Claire Van Fossen took fifth after clocking in at 57.03, while Krysta Garbarino was tied for sixth with a time of 57.11. Rounding out the championship heat was senior Sarah Yu. Yu placed eighth with a season-best 'B' cut time of 57.40. Senior Lindsay Zeberlein also posted a 'B' cut after winning the consolation heat (57.32), while Victoria Masney placed 13th in the event.
Denison occupied six of the top-13 spots in the 100 backstroke event to regain the top spot in the standings right before the diving break. Zeberlein and Yearwood posted times of 56.57 and 56.71, respectively, en route to finishing two-three, while Kate Wright placed seventh with a time of 57.94. All three swimmers improved their previous 'B' cut times. Rounding out the championship heat was Van Fossen, who placed eighth with a time of 58.37. Also scoring in the event were Masney (12th) and Yu (13th).
In the final event of the night, the Big Red took second in the 800 freestyle relay. Swanson, Zeberlein, Van Leuven and Howell collectively swam a 'B' cut time of 7:28.89.
Denison leads the nine-team field with 1,162, while Kenyon sits second with 1,153.5 tallies. DePauw sits third with 630.5 tallies, Wooster is fourth (526) and Wittenberg rounds out the top five (504.5). Events on Saturday will begin with the preliminaries at 10 a.m., followed by the finals at 6:30 p.m.
