GREENSBORO, N.C.-- The beat goes on. 

For the 25^th consecutive year, Denison women's swimming and diving leaves the NCAA Division III Championship with a top-6 finish.  Despite entering the meet with just nine healthy swimmers, this year's team closed strong, placing fourth overall with 329 points.  The team championship went to Emory with 560 points while Kenyon placed second with 476.  Williams College held off Denison for third place with 386 points.

The eighth and final session from the Greensboro Aquatic Center was started off by distance freestylers Taylor Johns and Campbell Costley.  Johns would go on to finish the 1,650 freestyle in 16:52.53 which placed her fifth.  In three previous appearances in the championship final of the mile, Johns had finished third (twice) and eighth as a freshman.  Costley ended in 16:57.39 to take home eighth place.  This was her third straight top-8 finish in this event.

Carolyn Kane and Ashley Yearwood would follow in the 100 freestyle with 20 points toward Denison's cause.  Kane placed fourth in 50.12 seconds while Yearwood took third in fourth in the consolation heat to place 12th after a time of 51.21.  That marked the 21st All-American swim in Yearwood's career.  This was Kane's third-straight appearance in the championship final of the 100 free after a runner-up performance in 2015.

DU did not have a swimmer in the 200 backstroke and Williams College took advantage, scoring an unanswered 39 points in the event to take a 60 point lead into the 200 breaststroke.

In the 200 breaststroke, Marissa Bednarek matched her performance from 2015 with a seventh-place finish in 2:17.29 running her career All-American total to 12.

The championship was capped off by the 400 freestyle relay squad of Kane, Yearwood, Kate Wright and Mary Van Leuven.  They were locked in a dual with Emory throughout the 400-yard swim and touched in 3:21.90, just .53 behind the Eagles.

Denison's women have finished no worse than sixth at the NCAA Division III Championship every year since 1992 (25 years).  They have won one national championship (2001) and have placed second seven times and third on eight occasions.  This is the fifth time DU has placed fourth at the NCAA championship.  This year there were 20 All-American performances and two relay runner-up performances.  Seniors Ashley Yearwood, Marissa Bednarek, Taylor Johns, Kate Wright and Mary Van Leuven have been a part of a national runner-up finish in 2015, a third place finish in 2013 and a pair of fourth place finishes in 2014 and 2016.

Individual Championship Summary

Marissa Bednarek: 200 IM (18^th-2:05.69), 200 Medley Relay (2^nd-1:41.94), 400 Medley Relay (3^rd-3:43.93), 100 Breast (6^th- 1:02.93), 200 Breast (7^th-2:17.29)

Campbell Costley: 500 Free (3^rd-4:51.36), 200 Free (7^th-1:50.57), 800 Free Relay (4^th-7:24.47), 1,650 Free (8^th-16:57.39)

Alex Elizeus: 500 Free (20^th-4:59.26), 200 Free (14^th-1:52.11), 800 Free Relay (4^th-7:24.47), 1,650 Free (21^st-17:22.38)

Halli Garza: 200 IM (27^th-2:06.79), 400 IM (9^th-4:24.85), 200 Fly (7^th-2:03.61)

Taylor Johns: 500 Free (6^th-4:53.54), 400 IM (18^th-4:31.58), 800 Free Relay (4^th-7:24.47), 1,650 Free (5^th-16:52.53)

Carolyn Kane: 50 Free (3^rd- 22.90), 200 Medley Relay (2^nd- 1:41.94), 200 Free Relay (2^nd-1:31.79), 100 Fly (6^th-55.58), 400 Medley Relay (3^rd-3:43.93), 100 Free (4^th-50.13), 400 Free Relay (2^nd-3:21.90)

Mary Van Leuven: 50 Free (17^th), 200 Medley Relay (2^nd- 1:41.94), 200 Free Relay (2^nd-1:31.79), 200 Free (33^rd-1:53.60), 400 Medley Relay (3^rd-3:43.93), 100 Free (23^rd-51.61), 400 Free Relay (2^nd-3:21.90)

Kate Wright: 200 Free Relay (2^nd-1:31.79), 200 Free (34^th-1:53.72), 800 Free Relay (4^th-7:24.47), 100 Free (31^st-51.99), 400 Free Relay (2^nd-3:21.90)

Ashley Yearwood: 50 Free (18^th-23.58), 200 Medley Relay (2^nd-1:41.94), 200 Free Relay (2^nd-1:31.79), 400 Medley Relay (3^rd-3:43.93), 100 Backstroke (16^th-56.91), 100 Free (12^th-51.21), 400 Free Relay (2^nd-3:21.90)