The Tribe traveled down to Willmington, N.C. for the annual Colonial Athletic Association Pod Meet. Due to COVID-19 complications, the last time this meet was held was back in Fall 2019. The Tribe hopes to extend their streak of dominant performances against the other CAA teams gathered.
Women’s Team
The Tribe has been undefeated this year, starting the season off 3-0 in dual meets. The Tribe looks to both individual and relay performances to bolster their scores. This strategy was no different at the CAA Pod Meet.
For the morning session of day one, on Saturday Nov. 6, the Tribe only managed to take out a win against Delaware, 60-30. Against UNC-W and JMU, they scored 40-50 and 42-48 respectively. However, the diving and second session had yet to swim. The Tribe was still in the running, lurking behind the morning’s leaders.
UNC-W, the hosts, swept the day one competition, topping the Tribe, the Blue Hens, and the Dukes. The Dukes finished with the closest margin, 42-48.
On day one, the Tribe took a huge 200 freestyle relay victory. With senior Missy Cundiff leading off in a blistering 22.84 leg, and quick legs from junior Katie Stevenson, sophomore Sydney Querner and junior Brooke Lamoureux, the Tribe managed to out-touch the Dukes by four-tenths of a second. However, the Tribe’s second relay team placed seventh overall. This resulted in the Dukes and Seahawks claiming second and third place points from both of their relays.
Cundiff took another victory in her 50 free event, only four events later. Her time was a margin slower than her split in the relay, but she finished almost a second faster than any other competitor. She reached the other end of the pool in just 23.05. The next fastest swimmer, Seahawk Sarah Olsen, finished at 23.95.
William and Mary finished eighth and ninth in the 200 individual medley. Though Delaware won the event, JMU and UNC-W took up the next six places, netting them lots of points.
The mile allowed the Seahawks to run away with their lead against the other teams, with a first and second place finish from their swimmers. The Dukes finished third and fourth, while the Tribe finished fifth and sixth
Next on the heat sheet was the 400 medley relay, which allowed the Tribe to gain some headway. Stevenson anchored with a 51.19 100-free. The Tribe narrowly out touched the Seahawks with a final time of 3:49.97 to 3:50.10.
After a short diving session (the Tribe does not have a dive team and does not compete), the afternoon session commenced.
Cundiff anchored the 200 medley relay. Her split allowed the Tribe to overcome a slower fly leg, and claim victory over the second place JMU. Again, the second Tribe relay placed seventh.
In the 200 freestyle, Stevenson made an impressive bid for first, but ultimately fell a few seconds short to Blue Hen Mira Selling. Stevenson finished with a final time of 1:52.59.
Junior Annie Tuttle managed to pull away from the competition in her 100 breaststroke. Her race was two seconds (1:04.39) faster than the second place Duke (1:06.42).
A third place finish from sophomore Kat Vanbourgondien closed the day’s events for the Tribe.
The Tribe trailed, but hoped to have a productive day on Sunday, Nov. 8.
Junior Elizabeth Inthitar opened scoring for the Tribe with a third place finish in the 500 free. The Tribe also saw success in the 100 free, as Stevenson placed first. Freestyle dominance, in long events, short events, and relay events seemed to be a theme for the Tribe throughout the Pod Meet.
Tuttle placed first in the 200 breast, with a time of 2:19.70. Yet again, the Tribe could not capitalize on the first place finish. The second Tribe swimmer in the event finished 11th, meaning Tuttle’s point boost was overcome by second and third place finishes from other teams.
The 400 free relay on Sunday showed a Tribe upset, marking the first relay the Tribe had lost. Despite quick starts from leadoff Cundiff and anchor Inthitar, a lagging middle allowed the Seahawks to get to the wall first. The Seahawks finished in 3:29.01, while the Tribe touched just tenths later at 3:29.30.
The Tribe could not overcome the Saturday deficit. Their standings remained the same. They finished fifty points in front of the Blue Hens, 198-148, but ended up falling to the Dukes and Seahawks 210-136 and 217-129 respectively.
The Tribe will swim again on Thursday, Nov. 18 in Morgantown, W.V.
Men’s Swimming
The Tribe (1-2) faced another rocky start at the CAA Pod Meet. They finished the first day lagging behind the Blue Hens and Seahawks, and could not muster a performance later in the weekend to pluck the birds. They fell to Delaware 101-237 and UNC-W 54-284.
The Seahawks made a statement, claiming first and second in the first event of the day: the 200 free relay. The Tribe came solidly in fifth and sixth, only managing to beat Delaware’s second team.
In the 200 individual medley, the Seahawks claimed the top four spots. They had an absolutely dominant meet, and the opening races of Saturday just illustrated that performance.
The Tribe broke into the top three for an event in the 50 free, with senior Graham Hertweck placing just two tenths after Seahawk E’Likai Crompton-English, a time of 20.88. The next top three finish came in the 200 medley relay, with Hertweck anchoring the free. Senior Jack Galbraith’s breaststroke in the relay also helped the Tribe gain some ground against UNC-W’s second team, who led the Tribe until that third leg.
The Tribe continued to lose to both UNC-W and Delaware swimmers throughout Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday, the Tribe hoped to make up some ground, but began by finishing seventh and eighth in the 500 free. They struggled to make a point-headway.
Hertweck had another chance for some big points in the 100 free, but a UNC-W podium (with a Crompton-English and Kenneth Lowe tie for first), pushed Hertweck down to fourth. The Blue Hens overcame Hertweck’s finish by slotting their next two swimmers in right after, reducing Hertweck’s lead to 1.
The 200 breaststroke proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Tribe. The Tribe finished behind every other swimmer in the event. Sophomore Cole Younger broke out fast in the first 100, touching third at the half. However, he lagged in the second, and ended up finishing two tenths behind Blue Hen Jack Hattery, with a time of 2:09.02. He was the closest shot at the Tribe getting points.
The final relay of the meet ended with another UNC-W sweep. The Tribe finished fourth and sixth.
The Tribe will also return on Thursday, Nov. 18 to compete in Morgantown, W.V. The meet will begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday and continue through to Nov. 20.