GREENSBORO, N.C. (March 15, 2023) – Denison University women's swimming & diving is off to a great start at the 2023 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championship. Through five of 20 events, the Big Red have built a 107-90 lead over Kenyon College and Emory University, who are in a tie for second place.

Denison got off to a strong start by putting three swimmers into the A Final in the 500 freestyle after Taryn Wisner (4:52.13), Tara Witkowski (4:53.48) and Emily Harris (4:57.33) finished in first, third and a tie for sixth place, respectively, in the prelims. In addition, Quinn Brown (4:58.90) was 12th and qualified for the B Final while Annie Pfeufer (4:59.61) tied for 16th in the prelims before falling short in a swim-off (5:01.58) for the final spot in the B Final. Brown then finished 15th overall with a time of 5:00.86 in the finals.

Wisner, the defending national champion in the 500 freestyle after winning it as a freshman, went on to finish second this year with a time of 4:49.84 while the new champion was Johns Hopkins University's Kristin Cornish with a time of 4:48.38.

Right behind Wisner with a time of 4:50.66 was Witkowski, who repeated upon her third-place finish as a sophomore last year.

In addition, for the second year in a row, the Big Red put three swimmers in the top-5 in the 500 freestyle as Harris made her nationals debut with a fifth-place finish and a time of 4:55.67.

That helped Denison stake an early 49-20 lead over both JHU and Amherst College in the team standings.

In the 200 IM, Christina Crane (2:03.21), Phoebe Ferguson (2:03.45) and Emma Berdelman (2:03.87) finished 10th, 11th and 13th, respectively, to each qualify for the B Final, where ultimately, Crane (2:02.84) finished 11th and Berdelman (2:06.81) was 15th.

Tara Culibrk finished tied for fourth in the 50 freestyle prelims with a time of 22.99 seconds before moving up to take silver with a time of 22.81 seconds in the finals. The winner was Kaley McIntyre from New York University with a time of 22.78 seconds.

On the 3-meter diving board, Kerstyn Johnson finished 10th in the prelims with 401.35 points before going on to finish first in the B Final and ninth overall with 427.30 points. Her best dive in the prelims was a back 1 1/2 somersault 1 1/2 twist free (5233D) on her final attempt that earned 42.00 points, while in the finals, five of her six dives garnered over 40 points, including a best of 46.80 points on her second dive, a back 1 1/2 somersault straight (203A).

In the 200 medley relay, Denison's group of Claire Moody, Christina Crane, Maja Palmroos and Grace Kadlecik tied for seventh place with a time of 1:43.64 in the prelims before remaining in seventh with a time of 1:42.56 in the finals. Emory won the 200 medley relay with a new NCAA record time of 1:39.55 while Kenyon was second at 1:39.67.

Denison will return to the Greensboro Aquatics Center on Thursday, March 16, for day two of the NCAA Division III Championships, where they will compete in the 200 free relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free and the 400 medley relay. Preliminaries begin at 10 a.m. followed by finals at 6 p.m.
 
First-Team All-Americans (Top-8):
Taryn Wisner – 2nd place in the 500 freestyle – 4:49.84
Tara Witkowski – 3rd place in the 500 freestyle – 4:50.66
Emily Harris – 5th place in the 500 freestyle – 4:55.67
Tara Culibrk – 2nd place in the 50 freestyle – 22.81
Claire Moody, Christina Crane, Maja Palmroos and Grace Kadlecik – 7th place in the 200 medley relay – 1:42.56
 
Second-Team All-Americans (Top-16):
Quinn Brown – 15th place in the 500 freestyle – 5:00.86
Christina Crane – 11th place in the 200 IM – 2:02.84
Emma Berdelman – 15th place in the 200 IM – 2:06.81
Kerstyn Johnson – 9th place on the 3-meter diving board – 427.30
 
Day One Results