Kenyon’s swimming and diving teams celebrated Senior Day at a meet on Friday against Division I Miami University (Ohio). The men’s team won the dual meet 177-123, while the women’s team fell 169-130.
The men’s swimming and diving team racked up 13 wins out of 16 events. Bryan Fitzgerald ’23 finished first in both the 200- and 500-yard freestyle. As this was the last dual meet of the year, Fitzgerald described the team being “beaten down” by the regular season ahead of the NCAC Championships. “Somehow, despite our physical condition, we managed to have a large number of swimmers put up times that were close to season bests,” Fitzgerald wrote in an email to the Collegian. “The meet was fun, but what was really exciting to everyone was what it implies about the arc of our season and where things are headed in the next two months.”
As the Owls will be swimming in the NCAC Championship next week, the seniors had mixed emotions. While celebrating Senior Day is a sign of the end of a collegiate career, most of the student-athletes will get at least one more chance to make a splash in Kenyon history. “The last dual meet of the season isn’t really a major milestone in most peoples’ minds, so I would expect to see reality hitting more on the last day of the conference or national meets,” Fitzgerald explained.
Sophomore standout Jennah Fadely ’25 spoke highly of this year’s graduating class. “I’ve gotten really close with a lot of them and I am grateful for their leadership/friendship this season,” she wrote in an email to the Collegian.
Fadely earned NCAC Women’s Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week for her performance against the RedHawks. She broke the pool record and Kenyon’s varsity record in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.36. Fadely already held the varsity record after swimming a 1:00.75 in the NCAA Division III Championship last year, but broke the pool record of 1:01.47 set by Julia Wilson ’18 in the 2016-2017 season.
The men’s swimming and diving team finished 8-1, while the women’s team finished the regular season with a record of 7-2. The men had their best finish since 1962, when the team went 10-2.
As the season winds down, the Owls will look to recapture their crowns as NCAC and NCAA D-III champions. Last year, the women’s swimming and diving team defeated Denison University, while the men lost the meet in the final relay. “Beating Denison is really the only goal — specifically, beating them in the most fun and entertaining way possible,” said Fitzgerald.
Fadely is also focusing on performing well and having a good time. “For the championship meet, I would love to see some personal bests but overall I just want to enjoy competing and being there with my teammates,” she said.
The NCAC Championships will start on Wednesday at Denison University.