The William and Mary women's swimming team got its 2011-12 season off to a solid start Saturday afternoon, winning five events in a 142-120 loss to Towson.  The meet was much closer than in years past, thanks in part to several very strong performances from Tribe underclassmen, and the College swept both relays as well as the backstroke events.

200 Medley Relay
The afternoon began with a Green and Gold victory in the 200 medley relay, where the team of Molly Emery (Burke, Va.), Emily Bart (Cherry Hill, N.J.), Gabrielle Mizerak (Manassas, Va.), and Sara Shaner (Clarendon Hills, Ill.) cruised to 1:47.00 showing, winning by more than half a second.  The Tribe also took third in the event, with the all-freshman quartet of Liz Glenn (Greenwood Village, Colo.), Liz Collins (Alexandria, Va.), Brodde Lamb (Charlottesville, Va.), and Megan Howard (McLean, Va.) touching the wall in 1:48.78.

100 Back
In the 100 back, it was Emery again making her presence felt with a win in 57.37.  Her time was just .05 seconds off of the pool record, set back in 2008.  Glenn also swam very well in the event, timing 58.61 for second place.

50 Free
The freshman Howard earned her first collegiate victory in the 50 free, blitzing to a 24.51 showing.  Shaner was right behind in 24.67 to give the Tribe a 1-2 sweep in the event.

200 Back
In the 200 back, senior Hailey Hewitt (Fairfax, Va.) won her 60th career event and first of the season with a very strong 2:03.35.  Glenn was right behind her in second place, touching the wall in 2:03.65 and leaping onto the College's all-time record board as the fourth-fastest swimmer ever in the event.  Only Hewitt, Emery and Meredith David '08 have ever swum faster.

400 Free Relay
The Tribe's final win came in the 400 free relay, where the team of Howard, Hewitt, Mizerak, and Shaner combined to swim 3:32.23 and come in well ahead of the Tigers' top quartet.  W&M also took third-place honors in the relay, with the team of Jen Bentley (Jamestown, N.Y.), Kelly Fini (Manassas, Va.), Kristin Fimian (Oakton, Va.), and Liza McDevitt (Jenkintown, Pa.) touching the wall in 3:38.08.

200 Free
In the 200 free, Hewitt took second overall in 1:54.56, narrowly behind first place.

100 Free
It was Emery's turn for a second place in the 100 free, again just narrowly being touched out when she hit the wall at 53.10.  Shaner took third in the event, finishing in 53.52 seconds.

200 Breast
A pair of freshmen took second and third in the 200 breastroke for the College.  Collins was runner-up in 2:26.65, and classmate Emma Carpenter (Haddonfield, N.J.) swam 2:27.84 for the bronze.

500 Free
In the 500 free, it was Lamb who turned in an outstanding performance, finishing second overall in 5:07.08.

200 IM
Lamb was again the top finisher for W&M in the 200 individual medley, taking second in 2:08.74.

1,000 Free
In the 1,000 free, junior Caylyn Tate (Sterling, Va.) finished third in 10:27.82.

William and Mary is back in action next week with a pair of meets on the weekend.  Friday, the Tribe will host Howard at 5:30 p.m., before heading up the road to Richmond on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match-up.