The DePauw swimming and diving team sent two athletes to Shenandoah, Texas to compete in front of the biggest crowd and biggest stage of their careers: the NCAA Division III Championships.
The athletes sent were junior Sam McManus from the men’s team, and senior Angela Newlon from the women’s team. Across his three events, McManus scored a total of 23 points in the meet, which placed the Tigers at 28 in the nation in the men’s competition. Meanwhile Newlon accumulated 16 points in her three races, which placed the Tigers in 34th place for the women’s side.
McManus began his weekend by competing in the 50 meter freestyle. He finished the race with a time of 21.31, which placed him in 41st. However, McManus reached his first NCAA final after completing the 100 meter breastroke in a time of 55.25, which was good enough for eighth place.
McManus then dropped additional time in the event’s final, where he became the first person in DePauw history to swim the 100 breaststroke in under 55 seconds. McManus finished the 100-breaststroke final with a time of 54.94, which kept him in eighth place.
“Standing on the podium was an amazing experience,” McManus said. “Knowing all the hard work and hours that went into those swims finally paid off.”
McManus concluded his weekend in the 200 meter breaststroke, where he swam a preliminary time of 2:00.40, which was also good enough to make the meet’s A final. In finals, McManus dropped his time down to 1:59.46, which placed him in seventh.
“In my career as men’s head coach, I’ve only had one other swimmer make top eight in two events at nationals,” men’s Head Coach Adam Cohen said. “For him to do that in his first national meet, it’s incredible.”
McManus finished the weekend with All-American honors in both the 100 and the 200 breaststroke.
As for Newlon, she began her meet on Wednesday with the 500 meter freestyle. Newlon finished with a preliminary time of 4:56.49, which got her into the meet’s A final. Newlon improved her time in the meet’s final to 4:55.41, which placed her in sixth place.
Newlon continued her weekend in the 200 meter butterfly, which she finished with a time of 2:06.18 and put her in 28th place. Newlon concluded her weekend in the 1,650 meter freestyle, which she finished with a time of 17:12.92. That was good enough for 14th place.
“The races were painful and nerve-wracking,” Newlon said. “But I consistently put 100 percent effort towards each one and had fun at the last meet of my swimming career.”
Newlon’s performances at the meet also earned her All-American honors for the 500 freestyle, and honorable mention All-American honors in the 1,650.
The meet was won by the men’s and women’s team from Emory University, as the men edged out Kenyon College’s team by 54 points and the women blew out the rest of the field, beating Williams College’s second place team by 200.5 points. The win for the men’s team was their first in program history, while the championship was the women’s team’s eighth straight title.