GRANVILLE, Ohio (December 1, 2023) – Following an impressive start on Thursday, the No. 2 Denison University women's swimming team logged 26 total NCAA Division III National "B" cut times for the second day in a row and had four event victories in the finals on Friday night as the Big Red increased their lead at the Fifth Annual Denison Invitational held at the Trumbull Aquatics Center in Granville. Currently holding a two-day total of 1,385 points, the Big Red sit 387.5 points ahead of the No. 3-ranked team in NCAA Division II, the University of Indianapolis (997.5), in second place, and are 396.5 points in front of the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division III, Emory University (988.5), in third place.

Denison started off day two with a win and an NCAA Division III National "B" cut time by Jassy Park, Riley Tofflemire, Amber Croonquist and Grace Kadlecik (1:42.88) in the 200 medley relay prelims, and then the night session opened with another win for the Big Red as Park, Tofflemire, Maja Palmroos and Kadlecik won it with a National "B" cut time of 1:42.17.

The Big Red swept the top-four spots in the 400 IM prelims as Esme Wright (4:27.32) was first, Tara Witkowski (4:28.14) was second, Liv Chow (4:30.49) was third and Rebecca Martin (4:30.98) was fourth. Then in the finals, Wright finished off the win with a time of 4:23.02 while Witkwoski was third at 4:25.94 and Martin made it three Big Red swimmers in the top-four with a time of 4:28.81. Each of Denison's top-three times in the finals were good for a "B" cut. Also in the 400 IM finals, Chow was sixth at 4:30.19 and Maria Mrosko was ninth at 4:30.86 as Denison's lead expanded to over 200 points for the first time in the meet, 280 points (847.5-567.5) to be exact, over UIndy.

In the 100 butterfly, Denison had four of the top-five times in the prelims as Emma Pritchett (55.41) was second, Palmroos (55.62) was third, Phoebe Ferguson (55.89) was fourth and Croonquist (56.25) was fifth. Then in the finals, the Big Red had four in the top-six as Ferguson and Palmroos tied for second with a "B" cut time of 55.17 seconds while Pritchett was fifth with a "B" cut of 55.57 seconds and Croonquist was sixth at 56.24 seconds. That put Denison over 300 points in front of UIndy (993.5-675.5).

Denison had four of the top-seven finishers in both the prelims and the finals of the 200 freestyle. In the prelims, Emily Harris (1:50.79) was second, Annie Pfeufer (1:52.02) was fourth, Quinn Brown (1:52.57) was sixth and Taryn Wisner (1:52.58) was seventh. In the finals though, Pfeufer brought home Denison's third win of the day with a "B" cut time of 1:50.50 while Brown was fourth with a "B" cut time of 1:50.84, Harris was fifth with a "B" cut of 1:50.88, and Wisner was again seventh at 1:52.80. That expanded Denison's lead by over 100 points to 417 points (1,154.5-737.5) over UIndy.

Drue Thielking (1:02.39) and Tofflemire (1:03.11) finished back-to-back in second and third place with "B" cuts in the 100 breaststroke finals; and then Park was seventh in the 100 backstroke finals with a "B" cut time of 56.03 seconds.

Lastly, in the 800 freestyle relay, Denison's group of Wright, Pfeufer, Brown and Harris dominated and finished in first with a "B" cut time 7:24.46.

The Big Red women's team will look to secure its third straight and fourth overall title in five years of the Denison Invitational on Saturday, December 2, with preliminaries scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., followed by finals at 6 p.m.
 
NCAA Division III National "B" cuts:
Jassy Park, Riley Tofflemire, Maja Palmroos and Grace Kadlecik – 200 medley relay finals – 1:42.17
Jassy Park, Riley Tofflemire, Amber Croonquist and Grace Kadlecik – 200 medley relay prelims – 1:42.88
Lauren Richner, Drue Thielking, Maja Palmroos and Natalie English – 200 medley relay prelims – 1:44.65
Esme Wright – 400 IM finals – 4:23.02
Esme Wright – 400 IM prelims – 4:27.32
Tara Witkowski – 400 IM finals – 4:25.94
Tara Witkowski – 400 IM prelims – 4:28.14
Rebecca Martin – 400 IM finals – 4:28.81
Phoebe Ferguson – 100 butterfly finals – 55.17
Phoebe Ferguson – 100 butterfly prelims – 55.89
Maja Palmroos – 100 butterfly finals – 55.17
Maja Palmroos – 100 butterfly prelims – 55.62
Emma Pritchett – 100 butterfly finals – 55.57
Emma Pritchett – 100 butterfly prelims – 55.41
Annie Pfeufer – 200 freestyle finals – 1:50.50
Annie Pfeufer – 200 freestyle prelims – 1:52.02
Quinn Brown – 200 freestyle finals – 1:50.84
Emily Harris – 200 freestyle finals – 1:50.88
Emily Harris – 200 freestyle prelims – 1:50.79
Drue Thielking – 100 breaststroke finals – 1:02.39
Drue Thielking – 100 breaststroke prelims – 1:03.68
Riley Tofflemire – 100 breaststroke finals – 1:03.11
Riley Tofflemire – 100 breaststroke prelims – 1:04.11
Jassy Park – 100 backstroke finals – 56.03
Jassy Park – 100 backstroke prelims – 55.58
Esme Wright, Annie Pfeufer, Quinn Brown and Emily Harris – 800 freestyle relay finals – 7:24.46
 
Fifth Annual Denison Invitational Friday Final Results
Fifth Annual Denison Invitational Friday Prelim Results