Eph women 4th, men 23rd after Day 1 at NCAA championships

MINNEAPOLIS, MN. – An impressive showing in the women’s 200 IM led Williams College to a fourth place standing after the first day of the 2009 NCAA Div. III Swimming & Diving championships being held at the University of Minnesota’s University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

The Williams men were 23rd after the first day.

Hosted by Macalester College, the national championships are set to continue Thursday, Mar. 19 and conclude Saturday, Mar. 21. Live results, Web casts, and photos are available at the Macalester College Website.

The Eph women had three swimmers place in the top eight of the championship final in the 200 IM. Senior Amanda Nicholson, who had the seventh fastest time in the morning preliminaries, dropped nearly 2.5 seconds in the evening championship final and finished second overall with a time of 2:02.74.

Eph first-year Logan Todhunter was right behind Nicholson in third place with a time of 2:03.15. Todhunter’s preliminary race time of 2:03.77 was nearly five seconds faster than her seed time. Nicholson's time was a new school record. Coming in seventh place in the championship final was Ellen Ramsey with a time of 2:05.94.

In the women’s 500 free, Jillian Hancock advanced to the championship final and placed seventh with a time of 4:56.97. Erin Altenberger swam in the consolation final and placed 12th overall with a time of 4:57.89. Hancock's time was a new Williams school record.

The women concluded the first night by placing fifth in the 200 medley relay. The foursome of Nicholson, Courtney Asher, Todhunter and Carolyn Geller finished the race in 1:44.48. The time was a new school record.

The Eph women have 89.5 points and are 47.5 points ahead of fifth-pace Wisconsin-La Crosse.

"All in all, it was a good day," Ephs head coach Steve Kuster said. "The top kids swam very well. I thought Amanda had it (a national title), she came up fast on the outside. Jillian had a great swim in the 500 free, dropping nearly four second off her time at the NESCAC championships. The 200 medley relay also broke a school record. It's an unbelieveably fast meet and it's nice to have some girls in the mix."

The men’s team also received a strong performance from its 200 medley relay. The foursome of Tyler Bonewell, Tim Ryan, Norman Scott and Gary Roberson placed 14th with a time of1:32.54. Bonewell finished 21st in the 200 IM with a time of 1:53.14 while Roberson was 21st in the 500 free with a time of 4:33.02. Williams has six points after the first day.