It wouldn't be an understatement to say that Kenyon's performance at last year's NCAA Championships was an embarassment, but this year the youthful Ladies appear to be the ones making a statement as they opened up a seventeen point lead over Emory University.

That statement was made clear from the start when, in the course of the 200 free relay, Kenyon put four women under the 24-second mark. No other team had more than two and here's the kicker - the oldest member of the winning relay was a sole sophomore. Calvin's Becky Weima jumped out to the early lead, but faded to fifth by the end of the second leg as Denison, Emory and UWSP each made moves. By that time, however the chase was for second place and after 150 yards, Calvin was back in the hunt with just 0.03 ahead of Denison and the Eagles but again the Knights faded as Denison's Annmarie Novinger outdueled Jaimie Lawlor for second, a second and a half back of the Ladies. Williams' Lindsay Payne, she of breaststroke fame, showed she has some wheels too, posting the fastest split of the meet (23.19) and passed Middlebury and C-M-S to secure sixth.

Emory's Samanta White successfully defended her 500 freestyle title, but not before raising the hopes of Washington University. WU's Jenny Scott took the early lead and held onto it for much of the race, but White, stalked the Bear, never letting her get more than 8/10 ahead. By the 400 Scott was showing the effects of the early pace and White dropped the hammer on the bell lap to come away with a convincing victory. With two up and two down, Emory took a ten point lead.

The Eagles extended their lead in the 200 IM, but the battle for the top was fought in the trenches with no Emory, Kenyon, or Denison swimmers reaching the big final. The big final was a highly anticipated showdown between Payne and defending champion and record-holder Kaitlyn Ornstein. Payne took down Orstein and her record, slipping under the D-III mark by just 0.04. Amherst's Brittany Sasser was able to move past Beth Groselle (Hiram) to secure third.

Becky Weima took the top seed into the meet and tonight she took home the championship. Weima and Kenyon's Jessica Wise swam side-by-side and touched together at the mid-point, but the freshman faded on the second-half, falling all the way to fifth. Kenyon's Elizabth Carlton swam exactly the opposite race. At the 25 she was just 0.01 ahead of eighth place but worked her way back to the second spot. The Kenyon freshman duo joined by Brittany Hurd's 6th place finish. Emory meanwhile was nearly shut out with just Lyle Holmes swimmer advancing to consols while teammates Jaimie Lawlor and Sara Hostelet had to watch from the deck having finished 18th and 20th in the morning.

Emory recovered somewhat in diving as Lisa Parton squeezed into the top eight for an eleven-point bonus. Concordia-Moorhead’s Anne Cullen broke an 18-year old meet record for the win.

The night concluded with Williams notching its second victory of the night, topping conference rival Amherst for the 400 medley relay title. Amherst's Brittany Sasser gave an indication of what's to come when she left the field behind and broke Liz Galloway's Division III backstroke record with a 55.55. As good as Sasser was, Payne made mincemeat of the lead, outsplitting Amherst's Piper Pettersen by nearly SIX seconds. WashU's Tina Rae Deneweth served notice that she intends to challenge for the fly with her split of 56.33. By the freestyle Williams had a comfortable lead and safely cruised to the wall.

Action in the three-day meet continues on Friday and Saturday at the University of Minnesota’s Aquatic Center.