Most years, Kenyon sweeps the North Coast Athletic Conference men’s and women’s swimming and diving team championships, and the school has claimed either a men’s or women’s team title every year since the NCAC’s founding – until now.

The Denison men and women won a total of 32 events and set 21 meet records in dethroning both the Lords and Ladies during last weekend’s 25th annual conference meet in Canton, Ohio.

Denison’s men snapped an 11-year NCAC winning streak by Kenyon and handed the Lords only their second defeat in league championships history. The victory sets up what will be a closely watched Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships showdown in Minneapolis next month, as the Lords seek to extend their record streak of NCAA championships to 30.

It’s only been five years since Kenyon’s women were last defeated for the NCAC crown, but the Ladies, like the Lords, had won 23 of 24 league crowns heading into this year’s competition. The Ladies have won 27 Division III team titles and will be seeking their third straight national title in Minneapolis.

The Division III men’s and women’s championships will be March 18-21 at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

Though Kenyon has maintained a virtual stranglehold on the NCAC crowns, nearby rival Denison has been highly competitive during league history, with the men coming within 88 or fewer points of catching the Lords six times since handing Kenyon its only defeat in 1997.

“It’s been close here for a long time, and to be successful, you have to get out of that bridesmaid mentality,” said Denison coach Gregg Parini. “We come here to win, and we have taken our first step toward nationals in Minnesota.”

The Denison men’s 375.5-point victory over Kenyon this year is the largest margin of victory by an NCAC men’s champion since Kenyon’s 398-point win over Denison in 1994. The Big Red women won by 131 points, after finishing only 15 points behind Kenyon last year in the closest women’s competition in league history.

Denison’s women also beat Kenyon in 2004, but Kenyon’s men won that year’s competition. Kenyon’s women won in 1997, the year that Denison’s men beat the Lords.