Saturday, William and Mary began its Colonial Athletic Conference championship defense. Both the men and women’s teams had meets against Johns Hopkins and cruised to season-opening victories at home in Williamsburg. Both teams are the favorites to repeat as champions in the CAA.
The women (1-0) defeated the Blue Jays (0-1) by a 162-100 margin. The meet included 14 events; the Tribe claimed victories in 10. The College got off to a strong start by winning the 200-yard medley relay. The winning team included junior Katie Sell, senior Jess Crowley, senior Abby Mack and junior Annie Miller. They won the relay with a time of 1:45.73 to edge out the second-place Blue Jay team. Sell also had great success in individual events, winning both the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard freestyle. She won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.00 seconds, then came back for a victory in the 100-yard freestyle with a winning time of 52.63. Freshman Megan Bull also had a close triumph in her first meet, conquering the 500-yard freestyle by less than a second with a winning time of 5:02.20. The meet concluded with the College coming out victorious in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The winning team included Miller, Sell, sophomore Emma Herold and freshman Tara Tiernan. They ran away with the relay in a time of 3:31.15.
The men (1-0) beat the Blue Jays (0-1) in a 194-68 margin. The meet had 14 events and the College was victorious in all but one. The Tribe won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:30.53, nearly setting a new pool record for the event. Senior Wyatt Grubb, freshman Devin McNulty, sophomore Jack Doherty and sophomore Colin Wright teamed up to run away with the event. Wright also won two individual events, the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle. In the 50-yard freestyle, Wright set a new pool record with a time of 20.46 seconds. Sophomore Chris Balbo also won two events for the College, the 200-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle. To end the day, the Tribe won another relay, the 400-yard freestyle, by nearly three seconds. Senior Tommy Kealy, senior Kyle Neri, Doherty and Wright combined to put the finishing touches on the College’s rout of the Blue Jays in a time of 3:05.97.
The women will hit the road for the first time this season Saturday for a meet in Greenville, North Carolina against East Carolina, Gardner-Webb and Campbell. The men will also be in Greenville, North Carolina this weekend for a meet against Gardner-Webb and East Carolina.