Owls win six events, expand Invitational lead

11/21/2025 9:08:00 PM | By: Owen Von Weihe -- Athletics Communications Student Writer

GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College Owls women's swimming and diving team added another wave of NCAA 'B' cut performances Friday night, strengthening their position atop the standings on day two of the 2025 Total Performance Invitational at the Steen Aquatic Center.

The evening opened with a decisive Kenyon victory in the 200-yard medley relay, as Gwen Eisenbeis, Kelsey Van Eldik, Maggie Grespin, and Lisa Torrecillas-Jouault combined for a time of 1:41.77, fast enough to meet the NCAA 'B' standard. The Owls' B-relay followed in second place at 1:42.81, also under the qualifying mark.

In the 200-yard freestyle, the Owls put together another strong NCAA 'B' cut showing, led by Molly Haag, who won the event in 1:49.21, a time nearly a full second under the qualifying standard. Nora Lee Brown followed with a third-place finish in 1:51.24, also meeting the NCAA mark. Additionally, first-year Deniz Guvenc took fourth in 1:52.83 and first-year Afsana Rawlins contributed a ninth-place time of 1:54.41.

The Owls continued to roll in the 400-yard individual medley, where two more swimmers met NCAA qualifiers. Ashlyn Widmer won the event in 4:26.05 and first-year Sylvia Thompson placed third in 4:28.75. Cecilia Woare, also a first-year, did not make the cut, but added a seventh-place finish in 4:33.70.

In the 100-yard butterfly, junior Sofia Giordano and first-year Nora Kortuem claimed fourth and fifth-place, respectively. Giordano touched in 55.97 and Kortuem stopped the clock at 56.13.

Next up, Kenyon added another qualifying swim in the 100-yard breaststroke, as Van Eldik returned to win the event in 1:01.16, comfortably below the NCAA 'B' cut. First-year Julia Mascarenhas also clipped the 'B' but, checking into third place with a time of 1:04.09.

The evening's next event, the 100-yard backstroke, produced another Kenyon victory and a top NCAA Division III performance for the Owls. Eisenbeis earned the top spot in the race, clocking in at 54.62. Her classmate, Torrecillas-Jouault, also got under the cut, taking fifth place in 56.39.

Kenyon closed the night in commanding fashion with a win in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of Giordano, Brown, Guvenc, and Haag posted a final time of 7:26.36, well under the NCAA 'B' cut and the fastest Division III time so far this season.

In all, Kenyon had six event wins on Friday's seven-event slate. The Owls' day two point total moved to 1,468, putting a ton of space between them and second-place Carnegie Mellon University, which finished the night with 961 points. With one day to go, Hope College (740) and West Chester University (692) round out the top four.

While swimming was going on in Gambier, diving competition for the Owls was happening in Indianapolis at the House of Champions Invitational. The 1-meter competition saw Kenyon saw junior Lucy Cassell-Kelley lead the Kenyon contingent by scoring 203.75 points and placing 19th among the 33rd competitors.

Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Related Stories