For the second year in a row, the William and Mary men's swimming team swept the two relays on the first night of the Colonial Athletic Association Championships.  With gold in both the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay, the Tribe vaulted up to fourth place in the team standings with 80 points, while UNCW leads with 201 points (including diving).

First up was the 200 medley relay, which saw the Tribe take control on the second leg and never looked back en route to defending its title.  Junior Will Manion (Haddonfield, N.J.) led off with a 22.29 split in the 50 back, breaking the school record of 22.31 set by Sidney Glass '13.  Manion was second at the hand-off but senior Matt Goetz (Islip, N.Y.) took over the lead with a blazing 24.37 50 breast, two-tenths faster than any other swimmer.  Justin Barden (Gordonsville, Va.) kept the lead with a strong 21.47 on the fly leg, and Billy Russell (Newport News, Va.) brought it home with the fastest anchor leg of the night, 19.70.  W&M's total time of 1:27.83 was the second-fastest in school history, behind only the record set in winning last season's championship.  This was also just the second 200-yard relay win in school history.

After a short break, the 800 free relay team stepped up to the blocks and performed flawlessly under pressure.  Senior Taegan Clarke (Chappaqua, N.Y.) led off in 1:38.85, the 15th-fastest single race in school history in the 200 free, and was a narrow third on the exchange.  Manion jumped in next and ran down the two men ahead of him on the first two legs, giving W&M the lead after 300 yards that the Tribe would never relinquish.  Manion split 1:36.45 to put the Tribe up nearly two seconds, and junior Jeremiah O'Donnell (Chapel Hill, N.C.) stayed comfortably in front throughout his 1:37.93 leg, handing off a three-second edge to Russell on the anchor.  The defending CAA Champion in the 200 free, Russell also extended the lead with the fastest anchor split again (1:37.84), and brought the Tribe home in a conference-record and school-record time of 6:31.07, breaking the records of 6:31.77 set last year.  This was the fifth-straight win for W&M in the 800 free relay, and the first CAA title for O'Donnell.

Due to the forecast of snow in the area on Thursday, the first full day of events will begin at 11 a.m., one hour later than previously announced.  The session will include the prelims of the 500 free, the 200 IM, and the 50 free.

2015 Colonial Athletic Association Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Team Scores (4 of 19 events complete)

1. UNCW 201
2. Drexel 153
3. Delaware 109
4. William and Mary 80
5. College of Charleston 78
6. Towson 69