Ladies cling to first place after quiet night

FRIDAY RESULTS I CHAMPIONSHIP SITE

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- In what turned out to be a slow day, at least in terms of Kenyon College standards, the Ladies had just four swimmers compete in the Friday evening finals session of the 2022 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championship. The scant participation, however, didn't deter the Ladies from defending their position atop the team standings.

With one day left in the Championship, the Ladies now have 311 points and still own first place. That spot continues to be tested by both Emory and Denison universities. Emory, the 10-time defending champion, moved into second place with 307 points, while Denison dropped to third place, but only by a half point. The Big Red have 306.5 points, followed by Williams College in fourth place with 223 points and Tufts University in fifth place with 156 points.

Ania Axas, a junior, was first to compete for Kenyon on Friday. She finished eighth in the morning preliminary and then posted a 2:03.21 in the championship final to take seventh place and claim 12 team points for the Ladies.

One event later, junior Olivia Smith tacked on 16 more points to the Kenyon total after taking third place in the 100-yard backstroke. She went 54.99 in the morning and then trimmed that down to 54.97 in the evening final. Her results, combined with Axas', extended the Ladies' team lead in the standings to 13 points over Emory, which, at that point, slid past Denison for second place.

Kenyon's other two individual event swimmers were first-years Gabrielle Wie and Jennah Fadely, who raced in the 200-yard breaststroke. Wei won the consolation final, turning in a time of 1:02.86 and Fadely placed third in the championship final by clocking in at 1:00.75, a personal best.

With just the 800-yard freestyle relay left on Friday night's schedule, the Ladies maintained first place with a 20-point advantage.

Kenyon's extra breathing room quickly dwindled, though. In the distance relay, the Ladies' quartet of Sarah Hoffman, Sydney Geboy, Axas and Sydney McCallie placed 12th with a time of 7:31.37. Denison and Emory cut into the Kenyon lead in the team standings by finishing second and sixth, respectively, in the same relay.

Tomorrow's final day of competition will begin with preliminary heats at 10 a.m. and final heats at 6 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Ania Axas: Junior

Sarah Hoffman: Sophomore

Sydney McCallie: Sophomore

Olivia Smith: Junior

Jennah Fadely: First-Year

Sydney Geboy: First-Year

Players Mentioned

Ania Axas
: Junior

Sarah Hoffman
: Sophomore

Sydney McCallie
: Sophomore

Olivia Smith
: Junior

Jennah Fadely
: First-Year

Sydney Geboy
: First-Year