RESULTS  I  CHAMPIONSHIP SITE

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Kenyon College Lords opened the 2018 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championship on Wednesday with a total of six All-America results that put the Purple and White in third place at the conclusion of the first day of the four-day meet at Indiana University Natatorium.

It's an unfamiliar place for the Kenyon program, which owns 34 NCAA titles and has finished first or second in every championship meet since 1979.

The Lords ended the night with 75 team points. Denison University, a team that placed third at last year's championship, now leads the way with 138.5 points. Defending champion, Emory University, holds second place with 99 points. Johns Hopkins trails Kenyon and sits fourth with 65 points, while University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is fifth with 55 points.

Things started out well for Kenyon, as its top individual swim of the evening came from freshman Tim Hagemeister in the meet-opening 500-yard freestyle. He clocked in with a personal-best time of 4:26.05 to claim fourth place. He finished just ahead of teammate and junior Robert Williams, who took eighth place in 4:30.39. Additionally, Kenyon received a 10th-place showing from sophomore Connor Rumpit, who finished the consolation heat in 4:27.18.



In the next event, the 200-yard individual medley, senior Matt Leenhouts tacked on 14 points to the Kenyon total by capturing fifth place in 1:48.87. In the consolation heat, sophomore Mick Bartholomew cranked out a 1:50.60 for a 13th-place finish. Those results left Kenyon in second place, 29 points behind Denison in the overall team standings.

Kenyon, however, did not have any qualifiers for the next two events, the 50-yard freestyle and the three-meter diving competition. While the Lords were idle, Denison pushed its team total to 104.5 and Emory leap-frogged the Lords to take over second place with 59 points.

In the final event of the evening, the 200-yard medley relay, Emory and Denison continued to distance themselves from Kenyon. Emory won the event, Denison placed second and Kenyon ended up taking seventh place. The Lords' relay squad of Ben Baturka, A.J. Reid, Matthew Cooper and David Fitch swam a 1:29.17 and capped off the first session of competition.

The Lords, as well as the rest of the NCAA field, return to the pool tomorrow morning for day-two preliminary heats at 10 a.m. and then final heats at 6 p.m.