The men and women’s swimming and diving teams each placed fifth at the 2009 NCAA Div. III Championships last week in Minneapolis. The Jeffs won three individual titles in the four-day event and the men marked their best finish in program history.

Women

The women were led again by sophomore phenom Kendra Stern, who defended two of her individual titles in the 100 and 200 free and claimed second place while trying to defend her third in the 500 free. Of the 10 women’s team members, six were seniors, making a very memorable last trip to Nationals.

“Six out of our 10 women’s team members were seniors, and I think every one of us was so excited to be there for our last meet and end our college careers together,” said senior Meaghan Stern. “That is a huge testament to [coach Nick Nichols], and the kind of coach that he is. He has really built up this team to be the kind of place where you have fun swimming fast, and you swim fast because you’re having fun. Even though we’re graduating a large class, the team should have no problem bouncing back provided they keep doing what we’ve been doing for years!”

The women made the best of the trip, with many setting personal bests in their swims by several seconds. The relays did especially well and were even more special to the team as many were composed of mainly seniors.

With 10 seniors graduating, the women definitely expect to take a hit going into next season, but both Stern sisters have big hopes for the team, even if only one of them will return next year.

“It’s weird to think that I’m done, but I know that there’s definitely more to come from this team,” M. Stern said.

“We can be confident that we have a strong group returning even if we are graduating 10 seniors,” added K. Stern. “We have a contingent of incoming freshmen from early decision that we are hoping will make a big impact and I think that our success from this season will help us fire it up for next season.”

Men

On the men’s side, sophomore Alex Fraser stole the show, taking the 500 free national title in record pace. Fraser also took second in the 200 free and ninth in the 100 free. Other top finishers include first-year Ryan Lichtenfels, who placed second in the 1650 free and sixth in the 500, senior diver Kai Robinson, who took third on the three-meter board and fourth on the one-meter, first-year Tim White, who placed eighth in the 200 back, and senior tri-captain Christian Witzke who placed 11th in the 200 free. In addition, the men’s relay teams placed in the top 16 in all four events.

Half of the men’s contingent that went to Nationals was comprised of freshmen, and only two were seniors, a good sign for years to come, claimed junior Tad Homchick.

“As they have all season, the freshmen again posted impressive times and contributed heavily to the team’s success,” Homchick said. “With eight out of 10 of the NCAA swimmers returning, the team is looking forward to another strong season next year.”