Denison Men Capture 2025 National Title, Kenyon Women Take Third

GREENSBORO, NC – After a sixth-place finish in 2024, the Denison men captured the 2025 NCAA Swimming & Diving title. The Big Red accumulated 463.5 points over the course of the four days of action at the 2025 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships, to win their sixth national championship by 140 points.
 
Defending champion Emory finished as the runner-up in the men’s standings with 323.5 points, while Chicago claimed third with 272 points, NYU placed fourth with 267.5 points and 34-time champion Kenyon earned fifth with 250 points.

In the women's final standings, MIT captured its first national crown with 497 points, while NYU placed second (470), 25-time national champion Kenyon took third (438), two-time champion Denison placed fourth (370.5), and 12-time champion Emory earned fifth (337).
 
At the completion of the four days of action in Greensboro, NCAC student-athletes won three national titles, posted 54 top-five finishes and logged 108 All-American performances.
 
In addition, Denison’s Gregg Parini was selected the Division III Men's Coach of the Year after guiding the Big Red to a first-place finish, the team’s first since 2019, and 17 Top-8 All-American performances. This is Parini’s seventh national men’s coaching honor and his 12th overall with five accolades being earned while leading the Big Red women.
 
Women's 1,650 Free
Bowdoin first-year Natalie Garre touched the wall first in a new NCAA record time of 16:17.84 to collect the women's 1,650 free title, while the NCAC saw three swimmers place in the top five and two in the consolation finals. The conference was led by Kenyon sophomore Bengisu Caymaz (Istanbul, Turkey/Eyubojlu) who earned runner-up honors after finishing in 16:28.38, while Owl junior Molly Haag (Middleton, WI/Middleton) placed third in 16:38.62 and Denison junior Quinn Brown (Portland, OR/Grant) took fifth in 16:49.57. Kenyon picked up 40 points, while Denison collected16 in the event, as the Owls moved into second with 355 team points and the Big Red remained in fourth with 294 points. NYU continued its hold on first with 392 points.
 
Men's 1,650 Free
Three Denison swimmers posted Top-8 All-American times in the men's 1,650 free, led by senior Tyler Distenfeld (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) who finished second in 15:20.19, while first-year George Goins (Charlotte, NC/McCallie School) took third in 15:22.54 and senior Lucas Conrads (Naperville, IL/Waubonsie) collected fifth in 15:28.21. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior Lucas Lang claimed the national title for the second-straight year in a time of 15:18.01. Denison picked up 47 points in the event to maintain its lead with 345 points overall, while Kenyon remained in fifth with 183 points.
 
Women's 100 Free
A pair of Denison swimmers posted top-eight times in the women’s 100 free, led by senior Avery Vogen (Mendota Heights, MN/Two Rivers) who took fifth in 50.56 and senior Grace Kadlecik (Lansing, NY/Lansing) who tied for seventh in 50.90. NYU junior Kaley McIntyre earned gold in the event for the second-consecutive year after breaking the NCAA record, which she set last year, in time of 48.53. The Big Red collected 25.5 points in the event to remain in fourth with 319.5 total points behind NYU (417), MIT (403) and Kenyon (355).
 
Men's 100 Free
Bates junior Maximillian Cory took home gold in the men's 100 free with a new NCAA record time of 42.98. Kenyon junior Djordje Dragojlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Nada Dimic) claimed third after touching the wall in 43.32 and Denison sophomore Jack Hill (Leighton Buzzard, UK/Cedars Upper) tied for fifth in a time of 43.63. With another Big Red swimmer in the consolation finals, Denison picked up 20.5 points in the men’s team standings to take a 108-point lead over second-place Emory (257.5), while Kenyon picked up 16 points in the event and remained in fifth (199).
 
Women's 200 Backstroke
MIT senior Kate Augustyn claimed her second-consecutive 200 backstroke title in a time of 1:55.85. The NCAC was represented by two swimmers in the consolation finals as Denison first-year Caroline Ramirez (Cincinnati, OH/Country Day) placed 11th overall in 2:00.37 and Kenyon junior Gwen Eisenbeis (Okemos, MI/Williamston) took 12th in 2:00.44. NYU maintained its lead in the women’s standings with 424 points, followed by MIT in second (423), Kenyon in third (360) and Denison in fourth (325.5).
 
Men's 200 Backstroke
Kenyon first-year Charlie Green (Mount Pleasant, SC/Wando) and Denison sophomore Devin Testin (Mequon, WI/Homestead) represented the NCAC in the "A" finals of the 200 backstroke. Green collected a fifth-place finish, timing in at 1:46.42, while Testin placed sixth in 1:47.58. Washington University fifth-year Kyle Wolford took first after touching the wall in 1:44.15. Denison (379.5), Emory (285.5) and Chicago (232) continued to hold the top-three positions in the team standings, while Kenyon moved up to fourth with 215 points.

Women's 200 Breaststroke
After a runner-up finish in 2024, Kenyon senior Jennah Fadley (Silver City, NC/Jordan Matthews) took gold in the women's 200 breaststroke, finishing in a time of 2:11.22. Owl classmate Gabrielle Wei (Hong Kong/Hong Kong International) placed second in 2:11.67, while Denison junior Drue Thielking (Brighton, MI/Brighton) earned fourth in a time of 2:12.42 and Kenyon first-year Kelsey Van Eldik (Newcastle, Australia/Merewether) claimed sixth in 2:14.96. MIT moved into first (437) after bumping NYU into second (424), while Kenyon picked up 50 points in the event and remained in third (410) and Denison continued to hold fourth (340.5).
 
Men's 200 Breaststroke
The NCAC was represented by a trio of Denison senior swimmers in the “A” finals of the 200 breaststroke. After placing sixth last season, Patrick Daly (New Albany, OH/New Albany) led the Big Red with a runner-up finish in a time of 1:57.49, while Elijah Venos (Pleasant Ridge, MI/Brother Rice) placed fourth in 1:58.45 and Gavin Jones (Bellingham, WA/Bellingham) took fifth just .13 seconds behind Venos in a time of 1:58.58. Emory senior Liyang Sun took gold after touching the wall in 1:56.64. Denison extended its lead to 124 points in the men’s standings with 429.5 overall points, while Emory remained in second (305.5), NYU elevated into third (239.5), Chicago was bumped into fourth (232), and Kenyon was bumped into fifth (224).

Women's Three-Meter Diving
Ithaca senior Kailee Payne completed a sweep of the boards claiming the three-meter title with 522.80 points in the championship finals. Payne set a new NCAA record in the three-meter prelims with an NCAA-best 530.95 points. The team standings remained unchanged with MIT holding first (457), NYU in second (436), Kenyon in third (410) and Denison in fourth (340.5).
 
Women's 400 Free Relay
NCAC teams earned two top-five All-American finishes in the women's 400 free relay, led by the Denison quartet of seniors Avery Vogen (Mendota Heights, MN/Two Rivers) and Grace Kadlecik (Lansing, NY/Lansing) and juniors Phoebe Ferguson (Columbus, OH/Grandview Heights) and Emily Harris (Castalian Springs, TN/Ensworth), who placed fourth in a time of 3:21.17. The Kenyon squad of junior Molly Haag (Middleton, WI/Middleton), senior Jennah Fadley (Silver City, NC/Jordan Matthews), junior Lisa Torrecillas-Jouault (Le Mans, France/CENS) and senior Sydney Geboy (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet) finished in fifth in 3:21.68. MIT’s Alex Turvey, Sydney Smith, Kate Augustyn and Ella Roberson clocked in with a winning time of 3:19.03 to earn the final women’s title of the 2025 meet. With the event win, the Engineers padded their lead to earn the team title totaling 497 points over the four nights of action, while NYU came in second with 470 points and Kenyon (438) and Denison (370.5) placed third and fourth, respectively.
 
Men's 400 Free Relay
In the final men's event of the evening, the Chicago squad of Cooper Costello, Daniel Brooks, John Butler and Sebi Vernhes took gold, touching the wall in 2:54.20. The Denison foursome of sophomore Jack Hill (Leighton Buzzard, UK/Cedars Upper), first-year Nick Hensel (Houston, TX/St. Johns), sophomore Andre Beduschi (Saline, MI/Saline) and senior Patrick Daly (New Albany, OH/New Albany) captured a runner-up finish in 2:55.80, while the Kenyon quartet of first-year Neil Abrahamson (Woodbury, MN/East Ridge) and juniors Djordje Dragojlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Nada Dimic), Kirill Sidorko (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Almaty International) and Teo Jaworski (Ann Arbor, MI/Pioneer) placed sixth in a time of 2:57.99. With the runner-up finish, the Big Red extended their lead to earn the team title totaling 463.5 points over the four nights of action. Emory came in second with 323.5 points, while Chicago took third (272), NYU placed fourth (267.5) and Kenyon earned fifth (250).

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