The William & Mary men's swimming team got back on the winning track Sunday, powering past Delaware 153-68 on the second day of the JMU Duals. With the win, the Tribe improved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while the Blue Hens fell to 1-3 (0-2 CAA).
W&M's victory extended its conference winning streak to seven matches, dating back to Nov. 1, 2014. That's the second-longest conference streak in school history, behind only a 15-match winning skein that lasted between February of 1968 and January of 1975. The win came about thanks to the Tribe winning every event except the closing relay (exhibition). Freshman
Ben Skopic (Marriottsville, Md.) led all Tribe swimmers with a pair of wins, going undefeated in the 200 free in 1:43.69 and touching the wall first in the 200 IM as well in 1:54.26.
The freshman class won three other events, accounting for half of the Green and Gold's victories.
Ian Bidwell (Pelham, N.Y.) nearly claimed a dual-meet record in the 1650 free, timing 16:05.78 for the win, and
Colin Wright (Williamsburg, Va.) took the 50 free in 21.17 seconds.
Colin Demers (Virginia Beach, Va.) rounded out the rookie champs with a 24.25 showing in the 50 back.
Winners also included the 400 medley relay, which started the meet with a 3:27.50 victory.
Wyatt Grubb (Mechanicsville, Va.) started the team off with a 51.59 100 back leg, before passing the metaphorical baton to
Josh Zimmt (Barrington, R.I.),
Evan Baker (Chantilly, Va.), and
Joe Eiden (White Plains, N.Y.) in turn. Baker, 22.84 in the 50 fly, and Eiden, 46.03 in the 100 free, also won their individual races. Senior
Alex Montes de Oca (Orange, Va.) won the 100 IM in 52.72 seconds, and
Brooks Peterson (Carrollton, Va.) finished the meet with a time of 27 seconds flat to win the 50 breast.
William & Mary has this weekend off, but will return to action Nov. 17-19 at the Hokie Fall Invitational.
