GAMBIER, Ohio – A perennial powerhouse, the Kenyon College women's swimming and diving program produced teams that finished third or better at NCAA Division III Championships for eight straight seasons and finished fourth or better in every NCAA Division III Championship since 1982. The 2026-27 team will attack the season ahead with a roster that includes 10 seniors, 10 returning All-Americans, two NCAA individual event champions and two NCAA relay champions.
2025-26 Review
Last year's Owls team went through the regular season with a 7-6 dual meet record, including a significant dual-meet victory against Denison University, as well as a first-place showing in their annual Total Performance Invitational. When the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship rolled around, the Kenyon team was ready, winning the meet by nearly 100 points over runner-up Denison. It was the program's third straight conference title and its fourth in the five years following the pandemic. At the end of the season, the Owls collected six national event titles, scored 380 team points, and claimed a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship, held in Indianapolis. It was the program's second straight third-place finish, following their last title-winning season of 2023-24.
Coaching Staff
Three quarters of last year's coaching staff returns for the upcoming campaign. The group is directed by Jess Book, who has been head coach of the women's program since the 2010-11 season. In his previous 15 seasons, his women's teams amassed seven NCAC Championships and two NCAA Championships. A 2001 Kenyon graduate, Book was an All-American distance swimmer. He is joined on staff, again, by Associate Head Coach Dani Korman, a 2006 Kenyon graduate, and Head Diving Coach Jason Glorius. Both Korman and Glorius are in their fourth season on the Kenyon staff. The addition to that group for the 2026-27 season is Assistant Coach Nick Barrows, who was a swimmer at NCAA Division I Miami (OH) University, where he also served as a graduate assistant during the 2025-26 season.
"We graduated a great class of women last year, but we have an excellent senior class this year. It is full of experience, leadership and imagination," said Book. "We have excellent opportunities to rebuild our relays and we have an emerging sophomore class that we are excited to see take the next step forward."
Preseason Poll
The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) released its 2026-27 Dual Meet Preseason Poll at the start of October. Defending national champion New York University sat in the No. 1-position in the poll, with 343 points. Kenyon, which finished third at the 2025-26 national meet, begins the new season ranked at No. 2 in the poll with 333 points. Emory University followed closely at No. 3 with 331 points. Denison scored 307 points to open at No. 4, and Williams College rounded out the top five with 295 points.
Returning Title Winners
Kenyon won 10 individual events at the 2025-26 conference championship, but only one of those-title winning swimmers, Kelsey Van Eldik, returns for the upcoming season. Van Eldik was last year's conference champion in the 100-yard individual medley, and both of the breaststroke races. The Owls also won three conference relay titles. The swimmers who were a part of those victories, and who are returning this season, include Van Eldik, Kate Bogan and Nora Kortuem. At the national level, Van Eldik is also Kenyon's top returning swimmer, she swept the NCAA titles in the breaststroke events. Joining her as a returning event champion is Ashlyn Widmer, who took last year's title in the 400-yard individual medley. Additionally, Van Eldik and Kortuem were a part of Kenyon's national championship and record-setting 400-yard medley relay team one season ago.
Top returners by individual event (2025-26 times)
50 Freestyle: Kate Bogan, 23.21 (All-American – 13th place at nationals)
100 Freestyle: Kate Bogan, 50.75 (49th place at nationals)
200 Freestyle: Nora Lee Brown, 1:50.69 (31st place at nationals)
500 Freestyle: Nora Lee Brown, 4:50.71 (All-American – 6th place at nationals)
1650 Freestyle: Nora Lee Brown, 16:49.62 (All-American – 9th place at nationals)
100 Backstroke: Kate Dunagan, 56.33 (31st place at nationals)
200 Backstroke: Kate Dunagan, 2:01.90 (36th place at nationals)
100 Breaststroke: Kelsey Van Eldik, 1:00.10 (2025-26 NCAA Champion)
200 Breaststroke: Kelsey Van Eldik, 2:11.70 (2025-26 NCAA Champion)
100 Butterfly: Sofia Giordano, 55.41 (19th place at nationals)
200 Butterfly: Amelia Stevenson, 2:01.01 (All-American – 7th place at nationals)
200 Ind. Medley: Kelsey Van Eldik, 2:01.25 (All-American – 2nd place at nationals)
400 Ind. Medley: Ashlyn Widmer, 4:20.61 (2025-26 NCAA Champion)
One-Meter Diving: Nadia Milovich, 397.85
Three-Meter Diving: Lucy Cassell-Kelley, 403.65
Schedule Overview
- Season Opener: Saturday, October 17 at home against University of Indianapolis
- Total Performance Invitational (Gambier, OH): November 18-21.
- NCAC Championship (Granville, OH): February 10-13.
- NCAA Championship (Greensboro, NC): March 17-20.
How to Follow
Fans can follow Kenyon football throughout the season via the following links:
