RESULTS | FACEBOOK PHOTO GALLERY
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the second consecutive day, the Kenyon College women's swimming and diving team jumped one spot in the team standings at the this year's NCAA Division III Championships. Celia Oberholzer became the Ladies' first national champion of 2014 and with her win helped Kenyon jump into second place heading into the final day of nationals.
Oberholzer served as one of two Ladies to place in the championship final of the 100-yard backstroke event, which claimed 32 combined points for Kenyon in their leap into second place. Oberholzer used her second 50-yard pass to blow by three different swimmers that hit the turn in front of her. With a blazing 27.93-second time after launching off of the wall, Oberholzer (54.33) streamlined her way to a second consecutive national title in the 100 back. She missed her NCAA record-setting mark from last year by just 0.20 seconds.
Rachel Flinn served as the second part of the duo that placed in the 100 back championship final. The senior touched seventh in the event behind a time of 55.90. Flinn and Oberholzer's finishes gave Kenyon the push it needed to top Johns Hopkins University for second place by a single point, 259-258.
Kenyon posted two additional fifth-place finishes by sophomores Mariah Williamson and Katie Kaestner. Kaestner aided the Ladies in maintaining their stand for second place by taking fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke behind a time of 1:02.87. That marked her ninth All-American output of her career.
Williamson kicked off the evening with a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, besting her preliminary time by more than one full second. By clocking in at 2:03.07, Williamson hauled in 14 more points to Kenyon's total, prepping them for their overtaking of second place that was soon to come.
Williamson and Kaestner both served on Kenyon's sixth place 800-freestyle relay team. The squad, which also included Haley Townsend and Hillary Yarosh, collected 26 points which kept the team's hold on second place intact despite Johns Hopkins winning the relay.
With 14 events in the books, Kenyon (299) will enter the final day in a battle with the Blue Jays (298) and Denison University (276) for silver medal honors. Emory University has a stronghold on first place in the team standings with 411.5 points.
Saturday marks the fourth and final day of the 2014 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. Saturday's events feature the 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard breaststroke, 1,650-yard freestyle, 400-yard freestyle relay, and three-meter dive competitions. Preliminary qualifying begins at 10 a.m. and finals begin at 6 p.m. from the IUPUI Natatorium.
