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Three NCAC Swimmers Collect Silver to Kick Off NCAA Championships

GREENSBORO, NC –Three runner-up finishes, nine other top-five placements and 27 All-American nods highlighted the efforts of North Coast Athletic Conference student-athletes on the opening night of the 2025 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships on Wednesday, March 19, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
After four events, defending national champion Kenyon leads the women’s standings with 104 points with MIT following in second with 93 points. Denison is in third with 87 points, while NYU is one point behind the Big Red (86) in fourth and Emory rounds out the top five with 80 points.

Denison leads the men’s standings after five events with 115 points, while two points separate second through fifth place. Carnegie Mellon and Centre sit in a tie for second with 60 points apiece, while Kenyon is in fourth with 59 points and three-time defending champion Emory is in fifth with 58 points.
 
Women's 500 Freestyle
Bowdoin first-year Natalie Garre collected the first national title of the meet and her career in a time of 4:44.90. Kenyon sophomore Bengisu Caymaz (Istanbul, Turkey/Eyubojlu) took runner-up honors after touching the wall in 4:46.67, while Denison junior Quinn Brown (Portland, OR/Grant) took fourth in 4:51.20 and Kenyon first-year Nora Lee Brown (St. Louis, MO/Kirkwood) placed seventh in 4:53.40.
 
Men's 500 Freestyle
Connecticut College senior Justin Finkel claimed the first national title on the men’s side, touching the wall first in 4:22.43 for his second-consecutive 500 free title. Denison started off the meet scoring major points in the men’s 500 freestyle with four swimmers in the championship and consolation finals. The Big Red were led by senior Tyler Distenfeld (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley), who touched the wall in a time of 4:25.51 for sixth in the “A” finals. In the consolation finals, a trio of Denison athletes scored points with first-year George Goins (Charlotte, NC/McCallie School) taking first (4:23.37), senior Lucas Conrads (Naperville, IL/Waubonsie) claiming third (4:25.97) and classmate Christian McIntire (Nashville, TN/Ravenwood) earning sixth (4:31.24).
 
Women's 200 IM
Williams’ senior Sophia Verkleeren outpaced the field in the “A” finals with a time of 1:59.93 to collect her third-straight 200 IM national title. The NCAC was represented by four athletes in the “A” finals, as Kenyon seniors Jennah Fadley (Silver City, NC/Jordan Matthews) and Gabrielle Wei (Hong Kong/Hong Kong International) took second (2:00.09) and fifth (2:02.06), while Denison juniors Phoebe Ferguson (Columbus, OH/Grandview Heights) and Emily Harris (Castalian Springs, TN/Ensworth) placed sixth (2:02.22) and seventh (2:02.33). Wooster senior Ollie Bream (Melbourne, Australia/Firbank Grammar School) posted a 2:06.82 during the prelim session, good for 34th place. 

Men's 200 IM
Carnegie Mellon sophomore Brayden Morford claimed the 200 IM national title in 1:45.50, while Denison senior Patrick Daly (New Albany, OH/New Albany) claimed a runner-up finish in a time of 1:46.26. Kenyon junior Kirill Sidorko (Almaty, Kazakhstan/Almaty International) took fourth (1:46.56) and Denison sophomore Devin Testin (Mequon, WI/Homestead) placed fifth (1:47.67).
 
Women's 50 Freestyle
NYU junior Kaley McIntyre won her third-straight national title in the women’s 50 free while breaking her own NCAA record, touching the wall in 22.15. Denison senior Grace Kadlecik (Lansing, NY/Lansing) placed eighth in the “A” finals finishing in 23.18.

Men's 50 Freestyle
Senior James Schwenk from St. Mary’s captured the 50 free title in a time of 19.53, while Kenyon junior Djordje Dragojlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Nada Dimic) took bronze after touching the wall in 19.61.
 
Men's Three-Meter Diving
Fifth-year Trent Makowiec from SUNY Geneseo collected the men’s three-meter title with a score of 558.35, while Denison junior Nick Fogle (Corcoran, MN/Providence Academy) recorded a score of 482.85 to place eighth in the “A” finals.
 
Women's 400 Medley Relay
The MIT squad of Kate Augustyn, Sarah Bernard, Sydney Smith and Alexandra Turvey collected the national championship in the 400 medley relay in a time of 3:38.48. The Kenyon team of junior Gwen Eisenbeis (Okemos, MI/Williamston) and seniors Jennah Fadley (Silver City, NC/Jordan Matthews), Celia Ford (Silver Spring, MD/Albert Einstein) and Sydney Geboy (Milwaukee, WI/Nicolet) touched in 3:39.75 for third, while the Denison foursome of sophomore Jassy Park (Lakeway, TX/Hyde Park), juniors Drue Thielking (Brighton, MI/Brighton) and Phoebe Ferguson (Columbus, OH/Grandview Heights) and senior Avery Vogen (Mendota Heights, MN/Two Rivers) claimed a fifth-place finish in 3:41.75.

Men's 400 Medley Relay
The Carnegie Mellon squad of Arnav Deshpande, Christian Lanuza, Brayden Morford and Matthew Peitler claimed the national championship in the 400 medley relay after touching the wall in 3:10.84. The Denison quartet of sophomore Jack Hill (Leighton Buzzard, UK/Cedars Upper), senior Elijah Venos (Pleasant Ridge, MI/Brother Rice), sophomore Andre Beduschi (Saline, MI/Saline) and first-year Nick Hensel (Houston, TX/St. Johns) placed fourth in a time of 3:12.74, while Kenyon’s team of first-year Charlie Green (Mount Pleasant, SC/Wando), sophomores Noel Tumbasz (Budapest, Hungary/ELTE Radnóti Miklós Gykorló Gimnázium) and Roman Savage (Claremont, CA/Claremont) and junior Djordje Dragojlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Nada Dimic) touched the wall in 3:12.84 for fifth.

The 2025 national meet continues through Saturday evening at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, with prelim sessions beginning each morning at 10:00 a.m. and final sessions starting nightly at 6:00 p.m.

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