Saturday, Jan. 20, William and Mary split its second-to-last regular season meet against Davidson at the Charles A. Cannon Pool in Davidson, N.C. The women’s team won 175-119, improving to 6-1 on the season. The men’s team lost 154-134, falling to 1-5.
The women’s team, which entered Saturday’s meet determined to bounce back from its only loss of the season at East Carolina, dominated the Wildcats from the get-go. After securing first and third in the 200 yard medley relay, freshman Lauren Tucker won the 1000 yard freestyle with a time of 10:19.44. In the meet’s fifth event, freshman Sarah Dunham secured another Tribe win in the 200 yard freestyle, finishing with a winning time of 1:54.71.
The men’s team, looking to finish the season on a high note, started Saturday’s meet on the right foot. Identical to the women’s team, the Green and Gold took first in the 200 yard medley relay, out-touching the Wildcats by less than two tenths of a seconds to secure a much-needed 11 points. In the 1000 yard freestyle, Davidson swept the podium, taking first, second and third in the event. Sophomore Will Glass earned two points and freshman Thor Dyke earned one with their fourth and fifth place finishes respectively, but the Wildcats drastic point swing marked just the beginning of a subpar rest of the meet for the visiting Tribe.
For the women’s team, the first place streak continued right into the 100 yard backstroke. With a winning time of 57.29, senior Kat Vanbourgondien scored nine points for the Green and Gold. Junior Ellie Scherer tallied another nine points for the Tribe in the 100 yard breaststroke. Sophomore Lindsay Juhlin recorded second in breaststroke, adding to the impressive early performance from the women’s side. In the 200 yard butterfly, the Tribe took first and second once again, this time thanks to sophomores Sophia Heilen and Lauren Klinefelter, finishing with times of 2:05.91 and 2:08.01, respectively. Through six events, the women’s team was perfect in first place finishes, allowing the team to grow its lead.
The men’s team, on the other hand, struggled to secure first place finishes early on. After not touching first since the initial relay, in the 100 yard breaststroke, the Green and Gold found its form. Sophomores Brock Rempe and Logan McDonald secured first and second place, respectively, putting the Tribe back on the board with a quick 13 points. After getting swept in the 200 yard butterfly, freshman Aiden Bond won the 50 yard freestyle, giving the team momentum heading into the diving portion of the meet.
After yet another Tribe win in the 200 butterfly, the women’s team suffered its first loss of the day in the 50 yard free, a minor setback in an overwhelmingly dominant day. After the diving break, Dunham continued her impressive day with another win in the 100 yard freestyle. Bond also took first in the men’s event, winning by almost one and a half full seconds with a swift time of 45.93. The Tribe freshmens’ dominance continued right into the 200 yard backstroke, where Julie Addison secured second place and David Yune won by almost an astounding three whole seconds.
Heilen secured her second victory of the day in the 200 yard breaststroke, finishing with a time of 2:20.15. Heilen and Dunhan were just two of the four women’s swimmers to win multiple events against the Wildcats, while Bond and Yune also accumulated two wins apiece on the men’s side.
Tucker, who emerged this season as one of the Tribe’s strongest distance swimmers, took first in the 500 yard freestyle, capping off her impressive day in Davidson. The sophomore pair of Klinefelter and McDonald then took first place in the 100 yard butterfly to capture the event for both the men’s and women’s teams, finishing with impressive times of 57.52 and 50.98, respectively.
In the second to last event of the day, William and Mary finished strong with wins coming from both Scherer and Yune in the 200 yard Individual Medley. Finally, in the 200 yard Freestyle Relay, both Tribe teams took first.
Both teams will look to finish their regular season on the right note against Georgetown on Jan. 27 in Williamsburg, Va.
