Nothing says drama like Denison and Kenyon in the pool.

In their annual, early season dual meet the two rivals found themselves tied at 112 points each with only the 200 free relay to go. It would be a last hundredth of a second stretch by sophomore Katey Klippel that would save the day for Denison, and lead the Big Red to a thrilling 123-118 victory over the Ladies.

The men's rivalry was a bit more lopsided as the Lords pinned another defeat on the Denison University Big Red, 144-95.

The winning 200 free relay team comprised of first-years Annamarie Novinger and Kristen Hohl, senior Meg Cassell and Klippel, ran neck-and-neck with Kenyon’s Jessica Wise, Kaite Randall, Alyssa Toran and Jennie Miller throughout the relay. In the final 50 meters, Kiippel trailed, just barely, most of the way but at the last possible second stretched and nipped Miller by seven one-hundredth’s of a second. Denison’s winning time was 1:39.43 while Kenyon logged a time of 1:39.50.

While the final outcome came down to the final race, a number of outstanding performances earlier in the day were imperative to Denison’s victory. First-year Kathy Embry made her presence known with a key victory in the 1000 freestyle. The rookie swam a winning time of 10:26.87, fighting off Kenyon veteran Rachel Smith who touched in 10:37.86. Embry would also pick up four points in a second place finish in the 500 freestyle.

Novinger, another rookie for the Big Red, won the 100 freestyle in 54.00 and was also a part of the winning 200 free relay mentioned above.

Leading off the meet, the team of Cassell, Caroline Stenback, Mary Dain and Kristen Hohl won the 200 medley relay in 1:50.93. Hohl would place second in the 50 free, touching in 25.14.

Sixteen of the biggest points of the day came in the 100 fly where Dain, Christine Wissink and Ilona Jurewicz took first, second and third, respectively for the sweep.

In the diving events, Denison first-year Amy Brown won the one meter and three meter dives, earning a total of 18 points. Kenyon's men won ten of the eleven swimming events and spotted Denison a 32-2 edge in diving competitions.

One night after leading the Lords to a win over Division I Ohio University, junior Davis Zarins (Riga, Latvia/Riga Specialized School) came through again Saturday with victories in three events. He was a part of the winning 200-yard medley relay team (1:34.80) and produced individual wins in the 200-yard individual medley (2:01.34) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:00.45).

Both sophomore Josh Mitchell (Iron Mountain, MI/Kingsford) and senior Andrejs Duda (Jelgava, Latvia, Jelgava No. 4) matched Zarins’ output. Mitchell swam legs on each of the Lords’ two winning relay teams and added a triumph in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.91. Duda also participated on both winning relay teams and posted a winning time of 21.76 in the 100-yard freestyle.

In distance events, sophomore Michael Northcutt (Charleston, WV/George Washington) provided the Lords with two more wins, taking the 1,000-yard freestyle in 9:53.29 and the 500-yard freestyle in 4:48.78.

Additional event victories for the Lords were turned in by freshman Matthew Harris (Laurel, MD/DeMatha) in the 100-yard butterfly (53.16) and senior David DeHart (Boulder, CO/Fairview) in the 100-yard back

Kenyon spotted the Big Red a 30-6 point lead in diving competition, which took place earlier in the morning at Denison. The Ladies played catch-up all afternoon and went into the final event of the swimming competition, the 200-yard freestyle relay, knotted up with the Big Red at 112-112. Denison captured 11 points for winning the relay, while Kenyon posted a combined six points for placing second and third.

Before that final relay got underway, Kenyon claimed wins in six individual events. JuniorRebecca Allison (Paradise Valley, AZ/Phoenix Country Day) was responsible for two of those wins, as she took the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:55.77 and the 500-yard freestyle in 5:08.52.

Freshman Jessica Wise (Metairie, LA/St. Martin’s) won the 50-yard freestyle for the second time in two days, as she touched first with a time of 25.12. In the next event, senior Jennie Miller (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) raced to a first-place spot in the 200-yard individual medley by clocking in at 2:14.05.

The Ladies’ other two wins came from junior Jessica Connors (Cedarburg, WI/Divine Savior Holy Angels), who won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.18) and freshman Carolyn Barer (Edina, MN/St. Patrick’s) who prevailed in the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.09).