INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (March 17, 2022) – Only 2.5 points separate the Denison University women's swimming & diving team from the team lead at the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship. Through 10 of 20 events, the Big Red have totaled 245.5 points and sit in second place behind only Kenyon with 248 points. Emory trails in third place with 215 points.

Denison started off day two with a fourth-place finish by Annalise Cheshire, Tara Culibrk, Grace Kadlecik and Natalie English (1:32.83) in the 200 freestyle relay prelims. In the finals, the foursome remained in fourth place with a time of 1:32.76.

In the first individual swim of the prelims, the 400 IM, Denison set itself up to score some big points in the final as Alix O'Brien (4:22.55; 3rd place), Esme Wright (4:24.49; 6th place) and Savannah Sargent (4:24.86; 7th place) all qualified for the A final. Additionally, Grace Kacmarek finished 16th to qualify for the B Final with a time of 4:26.93.

Then in the A Final of the 400 IM, O'Brien (4:21.41), Wright (4:22.74) and Sargent (4:23.78) finished in fifth, sixth and seventh place, respectively, to combine for 39 points and move the Big Red into first place in the team standings for the time being, 169-166 over Emory.

Additionally, in the B Final of the 400 IM, Kacmarek did a great job to finish third (11th overall) with a time of 4:26.00 to add more points to the Big Red total.

Emma Pritchett finished third in the prelims of the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.38 seconds before ending in seventh in the finals with a mark of 55.45 seconds.

In the final individual swim of day two, the 200 freestyle, Denison again put itself in position to have multiple point scorers as Tara Culibrk (1:50.30; 4th place) and Taryn Wisner (1:50.46; 6th place) both qualified for the A Final while Annie Pfeufer (1:50.91) qualified for the B final.

In the A Final for the 200 freestyle, Wisner earned her second All-American honor in two days by taking the bronze in third place with a final time of 1:49.17. Culibrk finished eighth at 1:51.16, and in the B Final, Pfeufer tied for fifth (T-13th overall) with a mark of 1:51.68.

The 30.5 points Denison gained from the 200 freestyle jolted the Big Red back up to first place for the second time on the day, 211.5-208 over Kenyon.

On the 1-meter diving board, Kerstyn Johnson finished ninth in the prelims with 389.10 points before taking third in the B Final (11th overall) with 399.60 points.

Denison's lead expanded to 217.5-208 before the final event of the night, the 400 medley relay.

In the 400 medley relay, Cheshire, Christina Crane, Pritchett and English finished fifth in the prelims with a time of 3:44.12. In the finals, Wright swam in the anchor position for English as Denison ended the night again in fifth place with a time of 3:44.53 while Kenyon won first place with a new NCAA record time of 3:38.05 to overtake the Big Red by just 2.5 points in the team standings.

Denison will return to the IU Natatorium on Friday to compete in the 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke and the 800 free relay. Preliminaries begin at 10 a.m. with finals starting at 6 p.m.
 
All-Americans (Top-8):
Annalise Cheshire, Tara Culibrk, Grace Kadlecik, Natalie English – 4th place in the 200 freestyle relay – 1:32.76
Alix O'Brien – 5th place in the 400 IM – 4:21.41
Esme Wright – 6th place in the 400 IM – 4:22.74
Savannah Sargent – 7th place in the 400 IM – 4:23.78
Emma Pritchett – 7th place in the 100 butterfly – 55.45
Taryn Wisner – 3rd place in the 200 freestyle – 1:49.17
Tara Culibrk – 8th place in the 200 freestyle – 1:51.16
Annalise Cheshire, Christina Crane, Emma Pritchett, Esme Wright – 5th place in the 400 medley relay – 3:44.53
 
Honorable Mention All-Americans (Top-16):
Grace Kacmarek – 11th place in the 400 IM – 4:26.00
Annie Pfeufer – T-13th place in the 200 freestyle – 1:51.68
Kerstyn Johnson – 11th place on the 1-meter diving board – 399.60
 
Day Two Results