Kenyon Men, Denison Women Remain top teams in January Poll
January 26, 2024 - Lewisburg, PA - The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) released the January edition of the Division III Top 25 dual meet poll. The Kenyon men and Denison women open 2024 at the top of the polls. Both the Kenyon men and Denison women were ranked first in last month's poll.
The committee, consisting of Division III coaches, assesses and ranks the nation's top 25 dual meet teams. Their evaluation takes into account head-to-head dual meet outcomes, performances since the last rankings, season-long performances, dual meet records, roster changes (such as injuries), and data from the SwimCloud Simulator. It's important to note that the poll's objective is not to predict the top finishers in a championship meet format.
On the men's side, the Kenyon Owls (474) remain at the top spot after strong showings against three in-state rivals: Cleveland State, Oberlin, and Miami (OH). Emory (454) held strong at the second spot, while Chicago (432) moved back into the top three. MIT (422) and Denison (402) round out the top five. Williams and Johns Hopkins were the big movers this month as they jumped nine and five spots, respectively. Grinnell (17), US Merchant Marine Academy (22), Connecticut College (23), and Colby made their way back into the top 25. Thirty teams received votes in the January poll.
For the women, Denison (400) remains in the top spot after taking home the win in an exciting quad meet with fellow top 25 members Carnegie Mellon (18), Calvin (15), and Johns Hopkins (9). The rest of the top five remains intact from the final poll of 2023, with Kenyon (382), Emory (370), NYU (347), and MIT (341) occupying spots two through five, in that order. Parity was the main discussion amongst poll voters, particularly in the middle third, with the belief that any dual meet could come down to how lineups match up. Franklin (24) made its season debut in the top 25, and 27 teams received votes in total.
You can find a complete list of the rankings at: www.cscaa.org/top25
Each committee includes 17 representatives from the four Division III Regions. The women and men committee chairs are Jake Taber (Hope) and Sean Tedesco (USMMA).
The remaining polls are scheduled for release on: February 9 and Friday March 1. Dates are subject to adjustment.
Amherst (12), Colby (4), Caltech (1)
RIT (5), Amherst (4), Depauw (1)
Women's Poll Committee
Chris Brown, Scranton; Greg Brown, Gettysburg; Brad Burnham, Bowdoin; Jay Daniels, Puget Sound; Jon Duncan, Southwestern; Brad Dunn, Lynchburg; John Geissinger, Hamilton; Logan LaBerge, Kalamazoo; Rich Munson, Drew; Shannon O'Brien, RPI; Brooke Plotz, Carleton; Cathleen Pruden, Trinity (TX); Annie Ryder, Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Meg Sisson-French, MIT; Jake Taber, Hope (National Chair); Jason Weber, Chicago; Mark Yankovich, Widener.
Men's Poll Committee
Justin Anderson, Mary Washington; Phil Baratela, RIT. Andy Brabson, Cal Tech; Peter Casares, Bates; Jennifer Cournoyer, Norwich; Keith Crawford, Rose-Hulman; Sam Davy, Swarthmore; Paul Dotterweich, SUNY Geneseo; David Dow, TCNJ; Astrid Escobar, Berry; Dan Forsythe, Amherst; Jim Halliburton, Washington-St. Louis; Rob Harrington, Wooster; Sarah James, Southwestern; Connor Rumpit, NYU; Pat Smith, Westminster; Brent Summers, Willamette; Sean Tedesco, USMMA (National Chair); Jason Weber, Chicago; Seth Weidmann, Carthage.