Denison's women put the finishing touches on the 2014 NCAA Championship on Saturday by ending the four-day competition with a fourth-place national finish with 374 points. That marks eight consecutive top-5 finishes at the national championship for the Big Red women. It is also the 28th straight year that a Densison women's swimming & diving squad has finished in the top-7 in the national standings.
First-place went to Emory University with 595 points while second-place went to the Ladies of Kenyon College who ended with 456 points. Johns Hopkins took third with 387, followed by the Big Red in fourth, and Williams College in fifth with 272 points.
The 1650 freestyle kicked off the night's festivities and sophomore Taylor Johns improved upon her eighth-place finish in 2013 by touching third with a time of 16:47.37. Johns began the championship with a sixth-place showing in Wednesday's 500 freestyle final. Rookie Campbell Costley qualified for the finals of the 1650 free, and placed eighth after covering the mile-long race in 16:55.52.
In the 200 breaststroke, senior Natalie Lugg capped off her career with a fourth-place showing in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:16.29. In 13th place, sophomore Marissa Bednarek finished in 2:20.17. Lugg leaves DU with one national championship, and 17 All-American swims under her belt.
First-year Carolyn Kane led a trio of All-Americans in the 100 free as Kane posted a seventh-place swim, touching in 51.23. Mary Van Leuven tied for 12th place in 51.46, and senior Morgan Nuess logged her third-straight top-16 finish in the event with a time of 52.23.
The 200 backstroke saw Libby Dalziel represent the Big Red with a 12th place finish in 2:02.08. It is also her first career All-American performance.
The 400 free relay team of Ashley Yearwood, Kane, Van Leuven, and Nuess closed out the championship with a fourth-place finish and a time of 3:25.41. Denison entered the race trailing third-place Johns Hopkins by only 2.5 points, but a victory by Hopkins in the 400 free relay would keep DU in fourth-place in the overall standings.
On the weekend, Denison logged one national championship (Natalie Lugg in the 200 breaststroke), and 26 All-American performances.
