William and Mary men’s and women’s swimming travelled to Annapolis for the Navy Quad meet Oct. 19. Both teams squared off against Navy, Johns Hopkins and Towson, and each team picked up their first win of the season after falling in home-openers to East Carolina the previous weekend. The men’s team picked up multiple victories against Johns Hopkins and Towson, while the women’s squad salvaged a decisive win over Johns Hopkins, despite falling short against Navy and Colonial Athletic Association foe Towson.
On the women’s side, the Tribe (1-3, 0-1 CAA) defeated the Blue Jays 208-54. However, the Tribe was unable to secure victories over the Tigers and the Midshipmen, falling 203-91 and 177-123, respectively.
The College received strong efforts from freshmen throughout the meet. Freshman Ellie Henry set the freshman school record in the 100-yard individual medley with a time of 1:00.01. Henry finished third in that race, as well as fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke. Freshman Missy Cundiff was a part of a first-place effort in the 200-yard freestyle relay and classmate Anna Kenna was a member of the 200-yard medley relay team that edged both Johns Hopkins and Towson. Kenna also excelled in multiple individual backstroke events.
On the men’s side, the College (2-2, 1-0 CAA) defeated the Blue Jays and CAA opponent Towson, but a loss to the Midshipmen prevented the Tribe from finishing the meet undefeated. The men’s team also enjoyed strong efforts by freshmen swimmers. Freshman Steven Thalblum broke the school-record for the 100-yard individual medley by finishing in 51.34 seconds. The Tribe also claimed the top-two times in the 500-yard freestyle, as junior Chris Balbo and senior Carter Kale both posted times just under 4:36.00. The College sealed a crucial victory over the Tigers with a win in the 200-yard freestyle relay at the end of the meet by close to a two-second margin. That win, led by a team of redshirt senior Evan Baker and juniors Jack Doherty, Ian Thompson and Colin Wright, propelled the Tribe to a narrow victory in its first conference matchup of the season.
Both the men’s and women’s teams have a quick turnaround with a meet against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County Saturday at 1 p.m. The Tribe men’s team will be looking to push its record over .500 for the year, while the women’s squad will attempt to pick up its second non-conference victory of the young season.
