West Massachusetts News

The Williams Women's Swim and Dive team entered the NCAA Division III Swim and Dive Championships having finished an undefeated dual meet season (11-0) to bring their Division III dual meet win streak, which began in 2008, to 128 wins. Their championship season kicked off with amazing performances at the Middlebury Invitational and rolled into a second place finish at the NESCAC Swim and Dive Championships. At the NESCAC meet, the Ephwomen earned top three finishes in all 5 relays, including setting a new NESCAC meet record in the 400 medley relay. Additionally, the team nabbed 29 top 8 finishes in individual swimming and diving events.

The Ephwomen brought a team of 12 to the NCAA Championships in Greensboro, NC this past week. The team swam and dove very well for the four day meet, ultimately claiming a 4th place finish with 307 points. This marks Coach Steve Kuster's 14th consecutive year of landing a top 5 finish at the NCAA Division III Swim and Dive Championships with the Williams Women's team. This year's 4th place finish was truly a team effort, with the group earning 20 individual top 16 finishes. In particular, all 11 swimmers who qualified for the NCAA Championship meet were named to the CSCAA All-American team, which includes everyone who places in the top 16 in individual events or relays. Further, Lily Codd '26, Sophia Verkleeren '25, Amanda Wager '23.5, and Samantha Kilcoyne '23.5 scored in all of their individual events at the meet. The Ephwomen's performances this past week included many best individual times, dives, and relay splits, including Wager's new NESCAC and team record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:11.92.

The meet concluded with Sophia Verkleeren being named CSCAA Division III Swimmer of the Year, an incredible honor. Verkleeren claimed two National titles this past week: in the 200 IM with a time of 1:59.47 and the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:57.66. She also earned herself a 3rd place finish in the 400 IM (4:20.60), and contributed to Williams' 3rd place 200 medley relay (25.51 on the backstroke), 4th place 400 medley (55.00 on the backstroke), 9th place 800 free relay (1:51.08 anchor leg), and 8th place 400 free relay (51.46 lead-off). Verkleeren being named the CSCAA Division III Women's Swimmer of the Meet is an honor which places her in an exclusive club with six other Williams Women's Swim and Dive greats (Emma Waddell '18, Sarah Thompson '15, Caroline Wilson '13, Logan Todhunter '12, Lindsay Payne '05, and Elizabeth Jex '83), four of which were recently named to the CSCAA's list of the 100 Greatest Women Swimmers and Divers of all time across NCAA Divisions I, II, and III.

Coach Steve Kuster shared his thoughts on the Ephwomen's performances at the NCAA Championships this past week: "I thought the women had a really good week. Certainly not everything went their way, but they handled the bumps really well and kept at it. Getting on the podium and bringing home a trophy felt like a really good way to end the season. I'm proud of everyone's effort this week." 

Original source can be found here.