National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

March 10, 1997

Division III

Kenyon expecting tougher fight

Event: 1997 Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Overview: Kenyon coach Jim Steen was on sabbatical for the Ladies' 13th title last year but is back at the helm for what he hopes is a continuation of the nation's longest women's championship string. "We'll unquestionably be one of four teams in serious contention," Steen said. "We're not quite as strong as in previous years, and Denison, UC San Diego and Williams are really good, so it should make for an exciting meet." Steen will rely on Katie Petrock and Anna Drejer, who have won six individual medley titles between them in the last three years. Kenyon also returns sophomore Marisha Stawiski, who won the 50-yard freestyle last year ... Among the top challengers, Denison features Anna Tuttle, a top-five finisher in both butterfly events last year, and senior captain Kristin Goldthorpe, fifth in last year's 50-yard freestyle ... UC San Diego has finished second to Kenyon eight times, and will challenge this year behind defending 200-yard breaststroke champion Kelly Byrne and Shawna Caballero, who was a top-five finisher in the sprints in 1995 ... Williams won its ninth straight New England Championships behind sophomore Jessica Stokes, who won three events and was named swimmer of the meet. Marla Robertson also returns as the defending 200-yard butterfly champion. "Williams ought to come in with some of the leading times in the country," Kenyon's Steen said. "And Doug Boyd has done a nice job in building the Tritons up, and Denison may have the strongest women's team they've ever had. If you combine that with Kenyon maybe not having its strongest team, well, you've got the ingredients for a great meet."

Field: The maximum number of participants allowed is 216. All qualifiers who have met the "A" time standard will be admitted in the meet; those who have met the "B" time standard will be considered for the field. No team is allowed more than 18 competitors.

Dates and site: Wooster will host the championships March 13-15 at the Miami (Ohio) Recreational Sports Complex.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 5215 for the list of qualifiers, 5216 for the first day's results, 5217 for the second day's results and 5218 for the final day's results. Individual and team results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Championships results will be published in the March 24 issue of The NCAA News.