Indianapolis, Ind. — The Colby Women's Swimming and Diving team opened the 2025 NCAA Division III Championships in historic fashion Tuesday night, securing a top-10 relay finish and shattering multiple school records at the Indiana University Natatorium.
The Mules made a major statement in the 400-meter medley relay, claiming seventh place nationally to earn First Team All-American honors. The quartet of
Alexis Coates,
Kellen Mottl,
Aria Kapoor, and
Eliza Marco clocked a time of 3:44.15, setting a new school record. The performance marks the highest relay finish for the Colby women's program at the NCAA Championships in 19 years. The relay success was sparked by a lead-off leg from Coates, who broke her own school record in the 100-meter backstroke with a split of 55.15. The 24 points earned from the relay have the Mules sitting in 12th place in the overall team standings after the first day of competition.
Individually, Colby saw a busy opening day with student-athletes competing across every event on the Wednesday slate. In the 50-meter freestyle, Marco led a trio of Mules with a 20th-place finish.
Caitlin Lacey followed in 23rd place, posting the third-fastest time in Colby history, while
Lexi Asch finished 59th with a time that ranks 12th all-time in program history. In distance action,
Savannah Lombardi placed 29th in the 500-meter freestyle.
Zoe Fencil competed in the 200-meter individual medley, finishing 63rd overall. Fencil's time of 2:12.82 moved her into 20th place on the school's all-time top performances list for the event.
The national meet continues tomorrow with the Mules scheduled to compete in the 200-meter freestyle, the 100-meter butterfly, and the 200-meter freestyle relay. Preliminary heats are set to begin at 10:00 a.m., with finals following at 6:00 p.m.