SHENANDOAH, Texas -- After finishing fifth at last year's NCAA Championship, the Williams College women's team captured third place on Saturday evening, capping an impressive season and an extremely impressive effort this weekend.

 

The last time the women finished in third was 2011. In total, they have been awarded third place honors eight times since the start of the program. 

 

The evening started off with the much-anticipated event of the 1,650-yard freestyle, and the Eph did not disappoint. Senior Sarah Thompson ended her individual swimming career in style, cruising to a National Championship title and an NCAA, NESCAC, and team record of 16 minutes, 21.44 seconds. This swim broke fellow Eph Caroline Wilson's 2010 record of 16:25.21. Teammate Megan Pierce followed Thompson to the wall, finishing second overall with a time of 16:38.05, and giving the team a tremendous wave of momentum to carry them through the final session.

 

In the always-exciting 100-yard Freestyle,  Emma Waddell represented the Ephs in the Championship Final. The first year capped off her individual swims finishing 3rd overall in the event, in a time of 50.56. 

 

The 1,650 was not the only event that saw top two finishers from the Ephs. In the 200-yard backstroke, a familiar showdown took place between Williams' Olivia Jackson  and Katherine Bennett, with the women staying neck in neck for the entirety of the race. In the end, Jackson hit the pad first, capturing her first individual National Championship with a time of 1:57.24. Bennett was hot on her heels, touching in only .01 later for a final time of 1:57.25.

 

Breanna Nguyen represented the Ephs in the last individual event of the weekend, posting a 2:19.24 to come in 11th overall in the 200-yard breaststroke. 

 

In the final event of the championships, the Ephs pushed through one last time for a phenomenal showing in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of Faye Sultan, Lauren Jones, Emma Waddell and Sarah Thompson finished in third with a time of 3:22.90.

 

Following the championships, Thompson was awarded the 2015 Swimmer of the Meet award, and Eph head coach Steve Kuster was voted the Women's Coach of the Meet.

 

Thompson, who was named the Female Swimmer of the Year, made it three consecutive national titles in the 1,650 freestyle, breaking the Division III record by just under four seconds with a finishing time of 16:21.44. With the victory, Thompson becomes the fourth women's swimmer to win the 1,650 three consecutive years, and, after having won the 500 free on Thursday, is just the eighth female to sweep both events in the same year. Additionally, the championship is the sixth individual title of her career (200 free and 1,650 in 2013; 500 free and 1,650 free in 2014; 500 free and 1,650 in 2015).

 

This closed the book on the Williams women's performance in 2015, highlighted by some swims that will undoubtedly go down in the record books and in team history.