Kenyon College, winners of twenty-one NCAA titles and undefeated against Division III programs retained their lead in the women’s poll, picking up twenty-two of the twenty-four votes cast. Emory University, winners of two of the past three national championships, ranked second following an impressive weekend at the Miami Invitational. Denison, Amherst and Williams rounded out a top-five that was unchanged from the previous poll.
For the men, Denison University retained the top spot, but saw its lead erode, claiming half of the twenty-eight first place votes. Gaining ground were Kenyon College and Johns Hopkins University which both enjoyed successful weekends at the Kenyon Invitational. The Lords, picked up eight first-place votes to finish eight points behind the Big Red. Johns Hopkins, with six first-place votes moved up a spot to displace Emory University for third. Emory retained the fourth spot just ahead of Williams College.
The Amherst men, following their 193-98 win over 22nd ranked Middlebury made the biggest move of the poll. They jumped up seven spots to 17th. The UW-Stevens Point, powered by sprinter Chase Gross moved up six spots to 13th. On the women’s side, Calvin cracked the top ten, up three spots from the previous poll.
The CollegeSwimming.com / CSCAA Division III Dual Meet Poll is voted on by members of the Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America and released four times throughout the season – November 21 (pre-invitational, December 12 (post-invitational), February 6 (pre-conference) and March 6 (post-conference).