UW-L Finishes Eighth at NCAA III Championships

For Immediate Release: Saturday, March 21, 2009

Minneapolis, Minn. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's swimming and diving team finished eighth at the 2009 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships Saturday night at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

The Eagles finished with 125.0 team points while Kenyon College captured the national title with 560.0. Emory University placed second (466.5) followed by Denison University (413.0), Williams College (334.5) and Amherst College (201.5) to round-out the top-five. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished sixth (174.0) followed by Calvin College (171.0), UW-La Crosse, Carthage College (114.0) and Johns Hopkins University (105.0) in the top-10. A total of 58 teams scored points.

UW-L has now recorded six finishes in the top-15 in school history. The Eagles, who placed 13th last season, finished a school-best fifth at the 2004 championships.

The Eagles' 400 freestyle relay of Chelsea Hoff, Danielle Ellingson, Katelyn Hartung and Clare Hathaway earned All-America honors Saturday night with a seventh-place finish (3:28.75).

In Saturday's prelims, Hartung, Hathaway and Ellingson all competed in the 100 freestyle, but failed to advance to the final. Hartung was 22nd (52.30) while Hathaway tied for 49th (53.28) and Ellingson placed 52nd (53.35). Hoff failed to advance in the 200 backstroke final after finishing 30th (2:07.58) in the prelims.

Hoff earned six All-America honors at this year's championships, bringing her career total to 12. Hathaway picked up four All-America accolades during the 2009 championships and now has 11 in her career. Brianna Peyer had three All-America awards this week for a career total of eight.

Ellingson (four), Hartung (four), Rachael LaValley (two) and Anita Talavera (one) all earned their first career All-America awards at this year's national meet.

For complete results at the 2009 NCAA III Swimming & Diving Championships, click here.