Saturday, Oct. 26, Towson hosted William and Mary in Towson, Maryland. It was the first Colonial Athletic Association matchup of the season for both the Tigers and the Tribe. The Tribe found success in the distance events, as both the men’s and women’s teams swept the Tigers, individual and relay alike. However, while the Tribe men (2-1, 1-0 CAA) narrowly conquered the Tigers 154 to 134, the women (0-3, 0-1 CAA) fell 169 to 125.
Junior Megan Bull gave the Tribe a strong start when she captured first place in the first individual event: the 1000 free. Only 17 seconds off her best time, Bull clocked in a final time of 10:20.07. Her teammates freshman Elizabeth Intihar and senior Norah Hunt clinched third and fourth place, negating the Tiger’s attempts to overcome Bull’s lead.
In other distance events, the women dominated the Tigers. Intihar, Bull and Hunt claimed first, second and third respectively in the 500 free. The 400 A and B relays placed first and third; for that event alone, the Tribe scored 13 points to the Tigers’ four. Senior Julia Bland finished a full three seconds above her competition in the 200 IM, swimming a 2:08.76. Two–tenths of a second separated second, third and fourth places, but freshman Peyton Proffitt raced between the Tigers to claim third.
The Tribe did not continue that strength to other parts of the meet. Winning only four of 12 individual events, the Tribe demonstrated what it was best at competing in. Three wins were in distance events — 1000 free, 500 free and 200 IM — and three wins were in freestyle events — 1000, 500 and 50.
Though the Tribe did not win any butterfly, backstroke or breaststroke events, it pestered the Tigers by picking up other point-scoring places. For example, in the 100 breast, the Tigers’ Jacalyn Schoening won, but Tribe picked up second, third and fourth; the point differential for that event was an almost even 10-9.
Without more event wins, the Tribe could not stop the Tigers from winning overall.
The men fared much better, though they also skewed toward distance and freestyle. Wins in the 100 breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly combined with the distance and freestyle helped the men swim to the win.
Senior Chris Balbo swam the 1000 free in 9:34.57, seizing first place. He took first in the 500 free too, finishing three seconds before the Tigers’ Drew Munson. In both events, freshman Conor Sokolowsky had a strong showing, supporting Balbo from fourth place. Sokolowsky gained eight seconds in the 500, swimming a time of 4:48.19.
Capitalizing on the early start, the Tribe won a total of eight out of 12 individual events. Other than the 500 and 1000, the men won the 50 and 100 freestyles. The men coupled their freestyle dominance with wins in shorter, specialized events: 100 back, 100 breast and 100 fly. Senior Ben Skopic picked up the final individual win in the 200 IM with a time of 1:52.04.
On the relay front, the men won both the 200-medley and 400-free relays. The 400 was a close competition, but the Tribe won by just over two–tenths of a second. The B relay, anchored by Skopic, picked up third place and two points. The Tribe picked up a first and a third in the 200-medley relay as well.
The Tribe will be on the road for its next meet as well, travelling to Harrisonburg, Virginia to face North Carolina-Wilmington Nov. 2. The women will be looking for their first win, and the men will be looking to grab another win against a CAA rival.
