Denison Rolling After Day Two at NCAC Championships

The Denison University men's and women's teams retained the top spot in the overall standings after day two of the 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference Swimming & Diving Championships.  The Big Red women continued their dominance after winning all eight events on the evening to bring their total score to 1,338 points, while the Denison men were victorious in three events and have accumulated 1,171 points after two days of competition.

On the women's side, Kenyon sits in second with 975 points, followed by Allegheny (628), Wittenberg (563), Wooster (554), Oberlin (488), Ohio Wesleyan (305) and Hiram (233).  Kenyon is also second in the men's field with 1,049 points, followed by Wabash (493), Wooster (489.5), Wittenberg (432), Oberlin (426), Allegheny (396), Ohio Wesleyan (267) and Hiram (237.5).

After setting two meet records on the first night of competition, the Big Red women set new meet standards in three races on Friday evening. Junior Emily Schroeder (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern) set the first mark in the 400 individual medley, touching first in an NCAA "A" cut time of 4:22.88, while senior Ksenia Golovkina (Newton, MA/Newton South) earned the record and qualified for the national championships in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:02.91.  The Big Red set the third record in the final event of the evening after touching first in the 800 freestyle relay with an NCAA "A" cut time of 7:27.33.

Four additional Denison swimmers also met NCAA "A" cut standards, including freshman Natalie Lugg (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.75), senior Kati Meirs (Cream Ridge, NJ/Peddie) in the 400 individual medley (4:25.77), sophomore Lindsay Zeberlein (Highlands Ranch, CO/Mountain Vista) in the 100 backstroke (56.55) and sophomore Alyssa Swanson (Aurora, CO/Regis) in the 200 freestyle (1:50.18).  Kenyon freshman Mary Bank (Union, KY/Ryle) captured an NCAA "A" cut time in the 100 backstroke, placing second in the event with a time of 57.27. The Big Red closed out the evening by qualifying for the national championships in the 200 medley relay, finishing first in a time of 1:42.74.  

The Big Red men also had four swimmers meet NCAA "A" cut standards, including junior Dan Thurston (Ann Arbor, MI/Huron) in the 400 individual medley (3:58.89), junior Spencer Fronk (Cherry Hills Village, CO/Cherry Creek) in the 200 freestyle (1:36.69), junior Robert Barry (Richmond, VA/St. Christopher's School) in the 100 backstroke (49.36) and junior Mike Barzak (Beverly Hills, MI/    Brother Rice) in the 100 backstroke (50.06).  Kenyon sophomore Ian Stewart-Bates (Moreland Hills, OH/University School) also qualified for the national championships after finishing first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:36.49.  

Wabash senior Evan Rhinesmith (McCordsville, IN/ Mt. Vernon) earned the schools' first-ever individual title at the NCAC Championships, winning the 100 breaststroke in an NCAA "B" cut time of 56.90, while Allegheny won its first individual title since 2008 after sophomore Brandon Intrieri (Erie, PA/McDowell) touched first in the 100 butterfly with an NCAA "B" cut time of 49.70.