Emory University clinched its seventh straight NCAA Division III team title on Saturday in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Eagles won only one individual event over the four days but swept all five relays. They had the deepest bench at the meet, placing individual swimmers in 18 A finals and 13 B finals.
The Eagles’ lone individual title came from sophomore Julia Wawer who won the 200 free on Thursday. Other swimmers with multiple top-8 performances over the weekend include sophomore Rebecca Upton (500/1650 free, 200 fly), junior Annelise Kowalsky (200 IM, 100/200 breast), freshman Fiona Muir (50/100 free), junior Marissa Bergh (50/100 free), and Cindy Cheng (200 free, 100 back).
Kenyon College was runner-up, after having placed fourth in 2015. The Ladies had 18 top-8 individual performances in swimming and diving events and 6 trips to the consolation finals. All five of their relays made A finals. Kenyon pulled to within 2 points of Emory on Day Two and it looked like there might be a real title race for the first time in recent memory, but Emory swung for the fences on Day Three while the Ladies stumbled, and suddenly we were back where we started. Nevertheless, Kenyon had a stellar meet. Freshman Marysol Arce won two events (500/1650 free), senior Maria Zarka won 1-meter diving, and senior Hannah Lobb won the 100 free.
Williams and Denison were in a battle for third, but the Big Red had trouble with morning swims and lost ground to the Ephs. Johns Hopkins, Amherst Wash U, NYU, MIT, Wheaton and Eau Claire were well-balanced at the next tier; they shuffled and reshuffled the deck, and any one of them could have come out on top but it was Hopkins’ stellar morning performances, especially by relays, that allowed the Blue Jays to rise to the top.
St. Thomas junior Emma Paulson was the only three-event winner at the 2016 Championships, for which she was awarded Swimmer of the Meet honors. Paulson won the 50 free and 100/200 back, narrowly missing the NCAA record in the latter.
2016 CSCAA Awards for Division III Women’s Meet:
- Women’s Diver of the Year: Sarah Sheridan, senior Hope College
- Women’s Diving Coach of the Year: Zack Golin, Hope College
- Women’s Swimmer of the Meet: Emma Paulson, junior, St. Thomas
- Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Jon Howell, Emory
Below are the final scores for all the women’s teams at the 2016 Division III Championships.
| Team | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Vs Prelims | Vs Psych |
| Emory University | 127 | 270 | 407 | 560 | 31.5 | 81 |
| Kenyon College | 119 | 268 | 338 | 476 | -4 | 35 |
| Williams College | 64 | 182 | 258 | 386 | -27 | 5 |
| Denison University | 79 | 182 | 238 | 329 | -15 | -55 |
| Johns Hopkins University | 21 | 102 | 149 | 188 | 18 | 109 |
| Amherst College | 44 | 96 | 131 | 158 | 16 | 9 |
| Washington University (MO) | 14 | 59 | 103 | 146 | -9 | 5 |
| New York University | 29 | 81 | 95 | 132 | 9 | -8 |
| Mass Institute of Technology | 25 | 71 | 86 | 131 | -9 | -38 |
| Wheaton College (IL) | 22 | 90 | 100 | 124 | -6 | -8 |
| University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 46 | 82 | 102 | 119 | 3.5 | -7 |
| Bates College | 36 | 70 | 82 | 96 | 22 | 19 |
| University of St. Thomas | 20 | 28 | 48 | 82 | 7 | -8 |
| University of Chicago | 4 | 27 | 66 | 79 | -16 | -27 |
| Connecticut College | 14 | 33 | 61 | 74 | 10 | 10 |
| Calvin College | 5 | 35 | 37 | 60 | -29 | -9 |
| Pomona-Pitzer | 29 | 37 | 41 | 41 | 2 | 8 |
| Trinity University | 0 | 12 | 12 | 41 | 3 | 4 |
| DePauw University | 15 | 15 | 23 | 39 | -9 | -29 |
| Ithaca College | 0 | 20 | 20 | 37 | -4 | -4 |
| Hope College | 0 | 16 | 16 | 36 | 5 | 5 |
| Springfield College | 0 | 0 | 22 | 35 | 7 | 5 |
| SUNY Fredonia | 0 | 17 | 17 | 33 | 5 | 5 |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | 9 | 19 | 27 | 33 | 2 | -3 |
| Washington & Lee University | 2 | 2 | 15 | 29 | -6 | 17 |
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 0 | 0 | 12 | 27 | -1 | 14 |
| Luther College | 0 | 0 | 17 | 26 | -8 | -8 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 0 | 0 | 15 | 26 | 1 | -6 |
| Wellesley College | 0 | 6 | 6 | 23 | -3 | -3 |
| Centre College | 0 | 13 | 13 | 22 | 8 | 8 |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | 0 | 8 | 11 | 21 | 11 | 10 |
| Bowdoin College | 0 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 3 | -8 |
| Mount Holyoke College | 3 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 4 | 0 |
| Middlebury College | 14 | 14 | 18 | 18 | -18 | -15 |
| Colorado College | 0 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 2 |
| Keene State | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | -2 | -17 |
| University of Mary Washington | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 5 | -3 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14 | -1 | -1 |
| Vassar College | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 9 |
| Franklin & Marshall College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | -2 | -2 |
| SUNY Brockport | 0 | 12 | 12 | 12 | -1 | -1 |
| William Smith | 0 | 0 | 11 | 12 | -7 | 8 |
| Grove City College | 0 | 7 | 11 | 11 | -5 | 5 |
| University of Wisconsin-La Crosse | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | -2 | -20 |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 0 | 11 | 11 | 11 | -3 | -3 |
| Tufts University | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 | -7 |
| Ursinus College | 0 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| University of Wisconsin-Whitewater | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Union College (NY) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | -1 |
| Kalamazoo College | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -2 | -45 |
| Gustavus Adolphus College | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -38 |
| Mount Union | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -2 |
| University of Redlands | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -4 | 2 |
| SUNY Cortland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | -1 |
| Mills College | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -8 | -3 |