William & Mary freshman Colin Wright (Williamsburg, Va.) was honored Thursday by the Colonial Athletic Association, earning the Men's Swimming Rookie of the Year award after a vote by the league coaches.  This award joins the previously announced Men's Swimming Coach of the Year award earned by Matt Crispino '02 at the conclusion of the CAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

Wright is the fourth Tribe swimmer to be named Rookie of the Year since 2012, and the first since teammate Evan Baker (Chantilly, Va.) won the award in 2015.  Wright's freshman year was nothing short of spectacular, culminating in an amazing week at the CAA Championships.  He won five titles, becoming just the third rookie in conference history (and the first since 2001) to achieve that feat.  Wright's week included titles in the 50 free and the 100 free, as well as swimming on the gold-medal 200 free, 400 free, and 200 medley relays.  He swam a blistering 19.62 in the 50 free, breaking the school record by more than half a second, and now ranks top-20 all-time in U.S. history for U-19 swimmers.  on Saturday night, Wright again smashed the school record this time in the 100 free, cruising to a 43.77 victory after earlier in prelims becoming the first swimmer in school history to break 44 seconds in the event.  His record-breaking prowess also helped W&M's 200 free relay team break the CAA record in 1:19.03.  Wright is just the second freshman in CAA history to win both the 50 and the 100 free, and the first since 2011.

Also recognized on Thursday was the All-Academic team, including Tribe junior Conrad Zamparello (Midlothian, Va.), and the all-conference team, which includes the top three finishers in every event.  The Tribe won 10 of the 20 events, and accounted for 22 of the 45 individual all-conference spots (22 of 39 in the swimming events) while also having every relay earn all-conference honors.

2017 CAA Men's Swimming and Diving Award Winners
Swimmer of the Year: Jack Saunderson, Towson
Rookie Swimmer of the Year: Colin Wright, William & Mary
Swimming Coach of the Year: Matt Crispino, William & Mary

Diver of the Year: Anthony Musciano, Drexel
Rookie Diver of the Year: Anthony Musciano, Drexel
Diving Coach of the Year: Emily Howard, Drexel

2017 CAA All-Conference Team
50 Freestyle: Colin Wright, William & Mary; Jack Doherty, William & Mary; Tommy Kealy, William & Mary
100 Freestyle: Colin Wright, William & Mary; Joe Eiden, William & Mary; Kyle Neri, William & Mary
200 Freestyle: Joe Eiden, William & Mary; Ivo Pejovic, Drexel; Luke Hanner, Drexel
500 Freestyle: Carter Kale, William & Mary; Brandon Ress, Towson; Ian Bidwell, William & Mary
1650 Freestyle: Carter Kale, William & Mary; Chris Balbo, William & Mary; Patrick Cobb, Drexel
100 Butterfly: Jack Saunderson, Towson; JT Lumpkin, Drexel; Evan Baker, William & Mary
200 Butterfly: Jack Saunderson, Towson; Tommy Kealy, William & Mary; Sean Higgins, William & Mary
100 Breaststroke: Joe Brown, Drexel; Josh Zimmt, William & Mary; Ralph Cannarozzi, Drexel
200 Breaststroke: Joe Brown, Drexel; Josh Zimmt, William & Mary; Ben Skopic, William & Mary
100 Backstroke: Tad Spence, UNCW; Dominic Breschi, Towson; Alex Henderson, William & Mary
200 Backstroke: Jason Arthur, Drexel; Dominic Breschi, Towson; Alex Henderson, William & Mary
200 Individual Medley: Jason Arthur, Drexel; Ben Skopic, William & Mary; Jack Saunderson, Towson
400 Individual Medley: Chris Balbo, William & Mary; Ben Skopic, William & Mary; Jason Arthur, Drexel
One-Meter Dive: Allen Crosby, UNCW; Anthony Musciano, Drexel; Michael Binkauskas, Drexel
Three-Meter Dive: Anthony Musciano, Drexel; Simon Carne, Drexel; Allen Crosby, UNCW
200 Freestyle Relay: William & Mary (Colin Wright, Jack Doherty, Tommy Kealy, Joe Eiden), Drexel (Stathis Malamas, Jason Arthur, Dave Kneiss, Ivo Pejovic), UNCW (Jon Suits, Sean Cannon, Jack Cosgrove, Noah Cahan)
400 Freestyle Relay: William & Mary (Colin Wright, Alex Henderson, Kyle Neri, Joe Eiden), Drexel (Stathis Malamas, Jason Arthur, Luke Hanner, Ivo Pejovic), Towson (Nick Essing, Jack Saunderson, Brandon Ress, Dominic Breschi)
800 Freestyle Relay: William & Mary (Alex Henderson, Eric Grimes, Tommy Kealy, Joe Eiden), Drexel (Stathis Malamas, Patrick Cobb, Luke Hanner, Ivo Pejovic), Towson (Dominic Breschi, Evan Brophy, Jack Saunderson, Brandon Ress)
200 Medley Relay: William & Mary (Wyatt Grubb, Alex Montes de Oca, Evan Baker, Colin Wright), Towson (Dominic Breschi, Jeremy Liu, Jack Saunderson, Nick Essing), UNCW (Tad Spence, Will Ryan, Noah Cahan, Sean Cannon)
400 Medley Relay: Drexel (Jason Arthur, Joe Brown, JT Lumpkin, Ivo Pejovic), Towson (Dominic Breschi, Jeremy Liu, Jack Saunderson, Nick Essing), William & Mary (Alex Henderson, Josh Zimmt, Evan Baker, Joe Eiden)
 
2017 CAA Men's Swimming and Diving All-Academic Team
Brad Allison, UNCW
Justin Mitchell, Delaware
Brandon Ress, Towson
Reed Vennel, Drexel
Conrad Zamparello, William & Mary