The NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships began on Wednesday morning at the Spire Institute, outside of Cleveland, Ohio, with full stands in the 1,000-seat facility. But, after a mid-day announcement that attendance for the upcoming NCAA Championship events, including swimming & diving, would be limited to only necessary staff, participants, and “limited family,” that will all change on Thursday.

While there is still uncertainty about what “limited family” means and who else will be allowed in the building, for now, teams at the Division II swimming & diving championship have been told that no spectators will be allowed in the building for the remainder of the meet, including families. This is different than an announcement made during Wednesday’s finals session that mirrored the statement of NCAA president Mark Emmert in saying “limited family” would be allowed.

Specifically, only teams, officials, and timers will be allowed in the building, with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission saying that the meet has been ‘closed to the public.’ The news that no spectators of any kind will be allowed has been confirmed to SwimSwam by multiple sources from Division II swimming & diving programs.

At the end of day 1 of the meet, the 5-time defending champion Queens women lead Drury by 4 points in the team standings and UC San Diego by 10 points in what is shaping into a 3-team race.

On the men’s side, a DQ by the 200 free relay of 5-time defending team champions Queens has left McKendree, the top-seeded team entering the meet, ahead by 22 points.

The state of Ohio has 4 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 0 deaths reported as of reporting. That includes its first community-spread case announced on Wednesday. Several local youth club championships scheduled in the state of Ohio for this weekend, including the state’s Junior Olympic meet, have also been cancelled.