GRANVILLE, Ohio (December 2, 2023) – For the third year in a row and for the fourth time in five years, the No. 2 Denison University women's swimming team won the Denison Invitational, doing so this time around with a three-day team total of 2,090.5 points. The Big Red won the event by 582.5 points over the No. 3-ranked team in NCAA Division II, the University of Indianapolis (1,508), in second place, and were 597 points in front of the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division III, Emory University (1,493.5), in third place.

After amassing 26 total NCAA Division III National "B" cuts during each of the first two days of the invitational, the Big Red capped off an outstanding weekend with 16 more National "B" cuts during between both the prelims and the finals on Saturday.

In the 1650 freestyle, Denison earned the win and had three National "B" cuts as Quinn Brown (16:49.01) finished first, Tara Witkowski (16:53.26) was second and Taryn Wisner (16:57.20) finished third.

In the 200 backstroke finals, Liv Chow was second with a "B" cut time of 2:00.63 while Jassy Park was first in the B final (10th overall) with a "B" cut herself at 2:02.99. Claire Moody was right behind Park in second place in the B final (11th overall) with a time of 2:03.55 while Courtney McKeown was fifth in the B final (14th overall) at 2:05.95.

Denison had five of the top-seven finishers in the 100 freestyle prelims and finals. In the prelims, Grace Kadlecik (51.23) was second, Annie Pfeufer (51.28) was third, Avery Vogen (51.76) was fifth, Natalie English (51.82) was sixth and Phoebe Ferguson (51.87) was seventh. Then in the finals, it was Ferguson (51.58) coming in second while Vogen (51.81) was fourth, Pfeufer (51.89) was fifth, Kadlecik (51.93) was sixth and English (52.00) was seventh. That gave Denison its first 500-point lead of the meet, 526.5 points (1,793-1,266.5) over Emory.

The Big Red then put together two more "B" cuts in the 200 breaststroke finals as Drue Thielking (2:15.93) finished second and Esme Wright (2:20.70) tied for seventh place. For UIndy, Celina Schmidt set a pool record with a National "A" cut time of 2:11.07, breaking the previous record of 2:13.72 set by Denison's KT Kustritz in 2018.

Emily Harris finished first in the 200 butterfly prelims with a "B" cut time of 2:03.40 before taking second in the finals with another "B" cut at 2:03.67. Emma Pritchett (2:05.76), Nikki Barnas (2:06.41) and Maria Mrosko (2:06.87) finished in order between sixth and eighth place in the finals.

The meet was wrapped up by a pair of top-three performances and National "B" cuts in the 400 freestyle relay as Denison's group of Chow, English, Kadlecik and Pfeufer earned the win with a time of 3:25.24 while Wright, Ferguson, Vogen and Harris were third at 3:25.47.

In all, Denison racked up eight wins and had 68 total NCAA Division III National "B" cuts by throughout the meet. Denison earned the win in four of the five relays (200 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay, 800 freestyle relay) while Kadlecik won the 50 freestyle, Pfeufer won the 200 freestyle, Wright won the 400 IM and Brown won the 1650 freestyle. The 68 "B" cuts represented 17 different swimmers and eight relay groups. Witkowski, Brown, Harris, Pfeufer, Wright and Park each set a "B" cut in three different events.
 
NCAA Division III National "B" cuts:
Quinn Brown – 1650 freestyle – 16:49.01
Tara Witkowski – 1650 freestyle – 16:53.26
Taryn Wisner – 1650 freestyle – 16:57.20
Liv Chow – 200 backstroke finals – 2:00.63
Liv Chow – 200 backstroke prelims – 2:01.70
Jassy Park – 200 backstroke finals – 2:02.99
Grace Kadlecik – 100 freestyle prelims – 51.23
Annie Pfeufer – 100 freestyle prelims – 51.28
Drue Thielking – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:15.93
Drue Thielking – 200 breaststroke prelims – 2:17.39
Esme Wright – 200 breaststroke finals – 2:20.70
Emily Harris – 200 butterfly finals – 2:03.67
Emily Harris – 200 butterfly prelims – 2:03.40
Liv Chow, Natalie English, Grace Kadlecik and Annie Pfeufer – 400 freestyle relay finals – 3:25.24
Esme Wright, Phoebe Ferguson, Avery Vogen and Emily Harris – 400 freestyle relay finals – 3:25.47
Avery Vogen, Natalie English, Olivia Morse and Phoebe Ferguson – 400 freestyle relay prelims – 3:27.02

Fifth Annual Denison Invitational Saturday Final Results
Fifth Annual Denison Invitational Saturday Prelim Results
Fifth Annual Denison Invitational Combined Results