Jumbos Win Two More NCAA Titles, Team's 6th Place Finish Matches Best Ever

GREENSBORO, NC (March 18, 2023) - In a remarkable final night at the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming & Diving Championships, Tufts University won two national titles on Saturday as first-year Lily Klinginsmith captured the 100 freestyle and the Jumbo 400 freestyle relay closed the meet with a victory.

Klinginsmith's national championship is the second of the meet for the freshman sensation. She won the 100 butterfly on Thursday evening. This morning she had been third in the 100 freestyle preliminaries with a 50.14 time. In the final though, she overcame a slight deficit at 50 yards to roar to the win in a school-record 49.28 finish (breaking her own record). Caroline Maki from Emory was second in 49.71 seconds.

Then in the 400 free relay, the Jumbos left the national meet with something to remember them by as they edged NYU to win the title with a 3:21.66 school-record ahead of the 3:21.71 mark for the runner-ups. Third-place Denison was just a tick behind as well in 3:21.82. The Jumbo relay was senior Claire Brennan, senior Katelin Isakoff, junior Jillian Cudney and Klinginsmith. The record broken (3:22.46) was from last year's NESCAC meet with Brennan, Cudney and Isakoff as part of the foursome.

Tufts scored 85 team points today to finish at 296.5 for the meet. Head coach Adam Hoyt's Jumbos were sixth overall in the NCAA scoring, matching the program's best-ever finish from the 1981-82 season.

With the two titles tonight and three overall at the meet, Tufts swimmers have now won five national championships at the last two NCAA meets. This includes Brennan's victory in the 200 freestyle and a 800 freestyle relay title last year. Tufts women's student-athletes in all sports have now won 10 NCAA titles since March 2022.

Tufts had three in the top 10 for the 100 freestyle final tonight. Behind the winner Klinginsmith, Brennan won the consolation final and was ninth overall in 51.01 seconds. Cudney was right behind her in 51.23 seconds for 10th place. Isakoff narrowly missed the consolation final and was 19th (51.59), while senior Elle Morse was 37th (52.15).

The Jumbos also got a consolation final victory from first-year Madeleine Dunn in the 1650 freestyle on Saturday. She swam a 17:03.01 time in the long-distance race. Tufts' Cierra McCarty and Sahar Mumtaz were also in the 1650 free and placed 23rd (17:29.66) and 25th (17:38.80), respectively.

First-year Maddie Hagberg swam 2:03.95 in the 200 backstroke preliminaries for 26th overall. In the 200 breaststroke, senior Katelin Ulmer was 28th (2:21.51) and first-year Quinci Wheeler was 32nd (2:22.37).

Twelve Tufts women won All-American and honorable mention honors at the meet, led by Klinginsmith's six (two individual, four relay). Brennan (5), Cudney (4), Isakoff (4), Ulmer (3), Wheeler (3), Dunn (2), Foltenyi (2), Morse (2), and Chloe Deveney, Hagberg and Ulmer with one each will all come home with national recognition.