Granville, Ohio (Feb. 14)- On the final day of the 2026 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, the Denison women's swimming and diving team finished second with 1853 points. The Big Red finished the 2026 conference championships with 27 All-NCAC finishes, eight first-place finishes, and two major awards.

Senior diver Lu-Si Minnich became Denison's 15th diver and fourth consecutive Big Red diver to earn NCAC Diver of the Year. Minnich wrapped her Denison career with two title finishes in the 1-meter and 3-meter dives, scoring 421.30 and 490.30 points, respectively, both securing her a spot at NCAA regionals.

Earning Denison's fifth NCAC Newcomer of the Year award was first-year Hailey Kaminski. Kaminski finished with two individual fourth-place finishes and was a part of the first-place 200 free relay and the second-place 400 free relay.

Day four, Denison found itself chipping away at Kenyon's lead. In the 100 IM, Phoebe Ferguson earned the first NCAC title in the 100 IM since 2020 after touching the wall with a time of 57.21. Taking third in the 100 IM was fellow teammate Riley Tofflemire, who finished third with a time of 58.89. Denison tallied its third and fourth top-three finishes in the 200 Back when sophomore Caroline Ramirez took second with a time of 2:00.44 (B-cut) and first-year Avery Anderson finished third with a time of  2:01.68 (B-cut). 

In the 100 Free Ollie Morse tacked on another All-NCAC finish, after swimming a 50.91 for third place. Things shifted in favor of Denison in the 200 Breast when the Big Red scored major points with four top-five finishes, giving the Big Red a slight lead over the Owls with just three events left. Taking second in the 200 Breast was senior Drue Thielking, who swam a 2:14.74 (B-cut). Just behind her was Gwen Bakker with a time of 2:17.95 (B-cut) for third.

Harris helped maintain Denison's lead after winning the 200 Fly after swimming it in 2:01.81 (B-cut). Though Denison put up 59 points in diving, it wasn't enough to hold off Kenyon heading into the 400 Free Relay. The Big Red closed out the 2026 NCAC championships with a second-place finish in the 400 Free Relay after Morse, Kaminski, Ferguson, and Harris swam a 3:23.21 (B-cut).

The final standings had Kenyon in first place with 1994 points, Denison in second with 1853, and DePauw rounding out the top three with 1377.5.

 

2026 NCAC Swimming and Diving B-cuts and Regional cuts

Women's 200 medley relay B-cut time: 1:44.23

1st- Denison A: 1:40.72 (Park, Tofflemire, Ferguson, Ramirez)

Women's 800 free relay B-cut time: 7:37.07

1st- Denison A: 7:19.14 (Harris, Morse, O'Hara, Brown)

Women's 500-free B-cut time: 5:00.16

2nd-Quinn Brown: 4:53.65

Women's 200 IM B-cut: 2:05.61

2nd-Drue Thielking: 2:04.67

3rd-Phoebe Ferguson: 2:04.84

5th-Emily Harris: 2:05.45

Women's 50 free B-cut: 23.53

3rd-Ollie Morse: 23.38
4th-Hailey Kaminski: 23.44

Women's 1-meter dive Regional cut: 395

1st-Lu-Si Minnich: 421.30

Women's 400 Medley relay B-cut: 3:49.72

2nd-Denison A: 3:41.80 (Park, Bakker, Ferguson, Morse)

Women's 100 fly B-cut: 55.86

1st-Jassy Park: 55.38

2nd-Phoebe Ferguson: 55.40

Women's 400 IM B-cut: 4:29.18

1st-Emily Harris: 4:22.77

Women's 200 free B-cut: 1:52.06

3rd- Quinn Brown: 1:50.72

Women's 100 breast B-cut: 1:04.21

2nd-Riley Tofflemire: 1:02.10

3rd-Gwen Bakker: 1:02.14

4th-Drue Thielking: 1:02.41

5th- Audrey Brink: 1:03.48

Women's 100 back B-cut: 56.58

2nd- Jassy Park: 55.51

3rd- Caroline Ramirez: 56.12

4th- Avery Anderson: 56.23

Women's 200 free relay B-cut: 1:34.93

1st- Denison A: 1:32.43 (Morse, Ferguson, Kaminski, Ramirez)

Women's 1650 free B-cut: 17:21.20

4th- Quinn Brown: 17:08.71

Women's 200 back B-cut

2nd- Caroline Ramirez: 2:01.74

3rd- Avery Anderson: 2:01.68

4th- Jassy Park: 2:02.09

Women's 100 free B-cut

3rd- Ollie Morse: 50.91

4th- Hailey Kaminski: 51.24

Women's 200 breast B-cut

2nd- Drue Thielking: 2:14.74

3rd- Gwen Bakker: 2:17.95

Women's 200 fly B-cut

1st- Emily Harris: 2:01.81

Women's 3-meter dive (11) Regional cut:

1st-Lu-Si Minnich: 490.30

Women's 400 free relay B-cut: 3:29.09

2nd- Denison A: 1:32.43 (Morse, Kaminski, Ferguson, Harris)- 3:23.21