Owls remain third, Van Eldik tacks on a title

3/20/2026 9:28:00 PM

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Kenyon College Owls recorded a handful of firsts Friday night at the IU Natatorium while competing in the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. At the top of the list was sophomore Kelsey Van Eldik's first individual national event title, which was supported by first-time All-America swims from four different Owl swimmers.

At the conclusion of the Friday-night session, first place on the overall team leaderboard remained with the New York University Violets, who will go into Saturday's final day of competition with 375 points. Emory University maintained second place with 319.5 points, and Kenyon held down third place, tallying 294 points. Denison University (239) and Williams College (190.5) rounded out the top five.

In the session-opening 200-yard medley relay, Kenyon took a small chunk out of that New York lead. The Owls' lineup of Gwen Eisenbeis, Van Eldik, Maggie Grespin, and Kate Bogan clocked in with a runner-up time of 1:39.89, which was just a hair short of the winning time of 1:39.72 posted by Emory's foursome. New York placed fourth in the relay, which cut Kenyon's deficit to under 80 points, while Emory closed to within 61.5 points of the Violets.

For Grespin, a junior and a relay alternate, the All-America finish was the first of her career.

The leaderboard landscape didn't change much after the 200-yard butterfly. Kenyon, however, had two swimmers in the finals. Juniors Amelia Stevenson and Sofia Giordano placed seventh and eighth, respectively. Stevenson clocked in with a 2:01.99, while Giordano registered a 2:02.52, just missing her personal best of 2:02.50. Like Grespin, Giordano's swim resulted in her first career All-America honor.

A win in the 100-yard backstroke increased New York's lead over Kenyon to 90 points, while Emory stayed right around the 60-point margin. Eisenbeis, a Kenyon senior, did her best to keep the Violets in reach. She raced to a time of 55.12, which put her in a tie for seventh place and netted her a 13th career All-America award.

Then came time for Van Eldik to shine. She delivered a wire-to-wire victory in the 100-yard breaststroke, stopping the clock at 1:00.10, which was a personal best. At last season's championship, Van Eldik placed fourth in the event with a time of 1:01.34. Prior to her Friday finish, Van Eldik's teammate and first-year Julia Mascarenhas took 14th place in the consolation finals of the same event. She touched in 1:03.72. Although Mascarenhas earned a relay All-America award Wednesday, this All-America swim was her first competing in an NCAA individual event.

New York had no swimmers in the 100-yard breaststroke, so Van Eldik's and Mascarenhas' efforts moved the Owls to within 67 points of the Violets.

The evening concluded with the 800-yard freestyle relay and another win for New York. Emory's squad placed fifth and Kenyon placed sixth. The Owls foursome clocked in at 7:22.19 and was made up of Deniz Guvenc, Lisa Torrecillas-Jouault, Nora Lee Brown, and Molly Haag. The All-America result was a first for Guvenc, a first-year.

The final day of the championship meet will get underway tomorrow with prelims kicking off at 10 a.m. and the final heats starting at 6 p.m.

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