The William and Mary women's swimming team began the spring season Saturday by taking down a spirited Davidson squad, 152-110. The Tribe improves to 5-3 on the year with the win, while the Wildcats fell to 7-3 overall.
Complete ResultsW&M had a plethora of top performances on the day, including a pool record and the best-ever dual-meet 50 free. Both came in the 200 free relay, as junior
Megan Howard (McLean, Va.) went 23.33 to start off teammates
Jaimie Miller (Houston, Texas),
Sara Schad (North Yarmouth, Maine), and
Greta Schneider (Moorestown, N.J.). The squad time of 1:34.84 was more than a half-second better than the old record of 1:35.45 set by the Tribe against East Carolina in 2011, and also is the 15th-best relay ever at W&M. Howard's lead-off time broke the Tribe's dual-meet record of 23.36, set by
Katie Radloff '10 in 2010.
Schad also swam very well in the 400 medley relay and in her two individual events. In the 50 free, she won the race in 24.52, an achievement that was her first-ever victory. In the 100 free, she was second in 53.03 behind
Noelle Klockner (Marlboro, N.J.), who won in 52.75 seconds. In the 400 medley relay, Schad anchored the team of
Sophie Rittenhouse (London, England),
Allie Christy (Williamsburg, Va.), and
Georgie Crompton (Brooklandville, Md.) to victory in 3:52.66.
Rittenhouse was another strong performer on the day, beginning with that relay. Her lead-off of 57.35 was the sixth-fastest dual-meet 100 back ever swum. She also won the 200 back in 2:03.45, the 16th-fastest dual meet performance. Senior
Devin Henry (Roanoke, Va.) went a dual-meet best 2:10.77 to win the 200 IM, and Howard won the 100 back in a lifetime-best 57.76 to rank 13th all-time at W&M. Rounding out the winners on the day was the freshman Crompton who took the 100 fly in 57.35, which was the third-fastest dual-meet time in school history.
William and Mary is back in the pool tomorrow, Sunday, Jan. 12, on the road at Richmond. The Tribe and the Spiders are set to begin at 1 p.m.
