Denison Men, Kenyon Women Lead Division III Polls

Kenyon College has long lorded over Division III swimming, but earlier this month the defending NCAA Champions were upended 123-120 by conference rival Denison University. The win propelled the Big Red into the top spot of the inaugural CollegeSwimming.com / CSCAA Division III Coaches’ Poll. The rankings were reversed on the women's side where Kenyon, the defending women’s NCAA Division III swimming champions, occupy the top spot, garnering 30 of 36 first-place votes to outpace Emory University and Denison University which each garnered three first place votes.

Denison boasts a perfect 3-0 dual-meet record against Division III opponents. Greg Parini’s crew also secured a win over Division II Ashland as well as victories over Wayne State, Olivet, and Calvin in a quad meet earlier this month.

Despite the loss, Kenyon still pulled over a third of the thirty-six first-place votes to secure a second-place ranking. Pollsters looked beyond the Lords hold a 3-2 record against Division III opponents. In addition to the loss to Denison a split Kenyon squad suffered a setback to 17th-ranked Grove City College.

Emory University (1-0) has four wins overall including victories over Division I Davidson College and UNC-Wilmington. Johns Hopkins (1-0) and Williams (1-0) were voted into the top five. Rounding out the top ten men's teams were Washington University, St. Olaf, Washington & Lee, Gustavus Adolphus, and Carthage College.

 

On the women's side, The Kenyon Ladies own a 5-0 dual meet record over Division III opponents this season including a convincing 136-101 victory over Denison. Kenyon’s only losses have come at the hands of Division I Ohio State and Ohio University.

Emory, the defending UAA Champions, holds a 1-0 dual meet record against Division III opponents and a 3-1 record overall. The Eagles are led by October 25th Division III Swimmer-of-the-Week Ruth Wesby.

Denison University (4-1), Amherst (1-0), and Williams (2-0) round out the top five spots with Williams, Johns Hopkins, Calvin, Wheaton, Middlebury and Washington University completing the top ten.

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).

Mens Teams 1 Denison 864.00 2 Kenyon 826.00 3 Emory 780.00 4 Johns Hopkins 774.00 5 Williams 618.00 6 Washington University 582.00 7 Saint Olaf 564.00 8 Washington & Lee 554.00 9 Gustavus Adolphus 542.00 10 Carthage 499.00 11 De Pauw 358.00 12 Kalamazoo 352.00 13 Wabash College 348.00 14 Carnegie Mellon 320.00 15 M. I. T. 320.00 16 New York University 312.00 17 Grove City 302.00 18 The College of New Jersey 272.00 19 UW-Stevens Point 236.00 20 Middlebury College 212.00 21 Chicago 204.00 22 Hope 160.00 23 UC Santa Cruz 140.00 24 Amherst 128.00 25 UW-La Crosse 104.00 25 Luther 104.00

Womens Teams 1 Kenyon 891.00 2 Emory 840.00 3 Denison 816.00 4 Amherst 723.00 5 Williams 675.00 6 Johns Hopkins 660.00 7 Calvin College 591.00 8 Middlebury College 534.00 9 Wheaton (IL) 534.00 10 Washington University 531.00 11 C-M-S 390.00 12 Hope 378.00 13 Mary Washington 342.00 14 Carnegie Mellon 315.00 15 Washington & Jefferson 252.00 16 De Pauw 237.00 17 UW-Stevens Point 234.00 18 UW-La Crosse 201.00 19 M. I. T. 183.00 20 New York University 156.00 21 Colby College 150.00 22 Carthage 126.00 23 Gustavus Adolphus 111.00 24 Case Western Reserve 102.00 25 Chicago 96.00 25 Frankiln & Marshall 96.00