The William and Mary men's swimming team retook the lead Friday night at the Colonial Athletic Association Swimming Championships, winning an unprecedented six golds in six races.  The Tribe now has 499.5 points, 26 ahead of defending champion UNCW, and Towson a distant third with 348.5.

The Tribe's six titles on Friday night alone are the second-most ever at any conference championship, and along with the three titles won on Wednesday and Thursday, gives this W&M team a program-record nine championships with one day still to come.

Finals Results
Prelim Results

400 IM
The night started off in the 400 IM, where sophomores Charley Bowles (Yorktown, Va.) and Jeremiah O'Donnell (Chapel Hill, N.C.) went 1-2 to set the tone of the evening.  Bowles went a lifetime-best 3:54.80 to claim the Tribe's first 400 IM championship since 1965, a performance that is the third-fastest single race ever.  O'Donnell was right behind him in 3:54.90, the fourth-fastest   ever, and sophomore Andrew Nyce (Vienna, Va.) took fifth with another lifetime-best 3:56.06, improving to fourth all-time at W&M.  Freshman Sean Higgins (Wilton, Conn.) also swam in the championship heat, placing seventh in 4:00.81.  In the consolation finals, senior Tyler Poling (Morristown, N.J.) was 11th overall in 4:01.78, and junior Carter Head (Lynchburg, Va.) rounded out the team with a 15th-place 4:04.28.

100 Fly
Next up was the 100 fly, where sophomore Justin Barden (Gordonsville, Va.) won his first individual title with a school-record time of 47.83.  In addition to being the fastest ever for W&M, the performance also gave Barden an NCAA provisional-qualifier.  The gold was the first for W&M in the 100 fly since Eric Druker '05 won back-to-back championships in 2004 and 2005.  In the consolation finals, Ryan Natal (Great Falls, Va.) went 49.62 seconds for 12th overall, and Alex Montes de Oca (Orange, Va.) timed a career-best 49.77 for 13th place.  The rookie now ranks fourth all-time at W&M in the event.

200 Free
In the 200 free, it was another sophomore, again winning his first individual championship.  This time it was Billy Russell's (Newport News, Va.) turn, as he pulled away from the field to win with a school-record time of 1:36.75.  That broke the Tribe record by more than a second, and also beat the NCAA qualifying standard.  Junior Taegan Clarke (Chappaqua, N.Y.) was fourth in 1:38.26, his second race under 1:38.3 on the day, and his younger brother Risten Clarke (Chappaqua, N.Y.) was eighth in 1:41.56.  In the consolation heat, freshman Alex Henderson (Hopewell, Va.) went a career-best 1:40.37 for 11th, and classmate Joe Eiden (White Plains, N.Y.) added a lifetime-best 1:40.60 of his own for 12th.

100 Breast
The winning streak continued in the 100 breast, where senior Andrew Strait (Henrico, Va.) made history by defending his title in an NCAA qualifying 54.32.  Strait's win was his fifth individual championship, tying the program record set by George Collins '70, and his eighth overall, breaking the mark of seven set by Collins.  He is also the first Tribesman to ever win twice in the 100 breast.  Junior Chris Dong (Chapel Hill, N.C.) got on the podium as well, touching the wall in 55.73 for third place, and his classmate Head was 16th in his second final of the night, stopping the clock in 58.93 seconds.

100 Back
A unique bit of history repeated itself in the final individual race of the night, when W&M's Will Manion (Haddonfield, N.J.) tied for first place in the 100 back at 48 seconds flat.  In the 29-years of CAA swimming, only twice has there been a tie for first place in an event - last year in the 100 breast between W&M (Strait) and UNCW, and tonight between W&M (Manion) and UNCW.  Manion's performance was the second-fastest ever for W&M and an NCAA qualifier, and he is the first man in school history to repeat as a 100 back champion.  Barden earned his second all-conference honor of the night by placing third in 48.09 seconds, a lifetime-best for the sophomore and the fourth-best time ever at W&M.

400 Medley Relay
The final event of the night was the 400 medley relay, where four event champions proved they were just as effective, if not more so, swimming together than alone.  Manion, Strait, Barden, and Russell combined to time a school-record 3:14.12 to claim the Tribe's first championship in the 400 medley since 1999, and just the fourth all-time.  The win, in addition to completing the perfect podium night for W&M, was also the Tribe's third relay win of the meet.  This is the first time that the Green and Gold has ever won more than two relay races in the same championship meet, and just the second time with more than one relay title.  Individually, Strait now has a program-record four relay titles in his career breaking the tie he shared with Hunter Perrot '13, while Manion and Russell moved into that same tie with Perrot.

The CAA Championships conclude on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. with the prelims of the 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, and 200 fly.  The 1,650 free, 3-meter diving, and 400 free relay will all also be contested.

2014 Colonial Athletic Association Championships
Team Standings
1. William and Mary 499.5
2. UNCW 473.5
3. Towson 348.5
4. Delaware 288
5. Drexel 269
6. College of Charleston 229.5