Saturday afternoon in Lexington, Virginia, William and Mary picked up a pair of victories on the road against Virginia Military Institute. The women’s team won by a huge margin of 207-64 while the men pulled out a closer victory, 168-120. The two wins push the men’s and women’s records to 5-1 and 3-4, respectively.
Coming into Saturday, the men’s team had dominated throughout the season, winning against every Colonial Athletic Association opponent. Its only loss came against East Carolina Oct. 12th. The women’s team had struggled more this season, but coming into Saturday, the Tribe had won its last two matchups against conference opponents with wins against North Carolina-Wilmington and Delaware last Sunday.
On the women’s side, the Tribe won 13 of the 14 events and thoroughly dominated the Keydets from start to finish. The freshman class made the biggest splash for the College, winning five total events. Leading the way was freshman Brooke Lamoureaux, who won multiple events for the first time in her college career. She won the 200-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter individual medley. Another key freshman performance came from Elizabeth Intihar, who dominated the competition on her way to a victory in the 200-meter butterfly. The College won every single relay on the day.
The Tribe’s men’s swimmers did not disappoint either, winning 10 events on Saturday to float past the Keydets. The win marked the fifth of the season for the Tribe and pushed its record to 5-1 on the season. The defending Colonial Athletic Association champions won both of the relays, just like the women’s team. Seniors Ian Bidwell and Chris Balbo both won multiple events to pace the Tribe. Bidwell cruised in the freestyle, with wins in the 200 free and 500 free. Balbo added to the College’s win total with a win in the 200 backstroke and the 100 butterfly. Three Tribe swimmers picked up their first career victories, junior James Mostofi in the 1,000 freestyle, sophomore Jack Galbraith in the 100-meter freestyle, and freshman Conor Sokolowsky in the 200-meter breaststroke. Sokolowsky’s win was the first victory by a freshman for the men’s team this season.
Both men’s and women’s teams will have a long break before the final meet of this semester. That meet will take place in Morgantown, West Virginia, November 21-23. The women’s team will look to even its record at 4-4 while the men hope to continue their winning ways, as they look ahead to the upcoming winter season.
