The William & Mary women's swimming team put up a tough fight in the season opener on Saturday, winning four events and breaking a dual-meet record before falling to East Carolina, 136-126.  That's the closest margin between the two teams since 1986.

The meet started off strong for the Tribe, as the 200 medley relay team of freshman Anna Kenna (Chantilly, Va.), junior Lauren Freeman (Fairfax Station, Va.), and seniors Katie Sell (Fredericksburg, Va.) and Annie Miller (Houston, Texas) combined to win the first race of the year in 1:44.82.  Next up was the 1,000 free, where sophomore Megan Bull (Hillsborough, N.J.) finished second by less than a second, and broke W&M's dual-meet record by four seconds in 10:10.97, breaking a mark that had stood since 2010.  Bull's effort was the 11th-fastest race in school history, and improved her to sixth all-time among Tribe athletes.

The strong start continued in the 200 free, where sophomore Tara Tiernan (West Hartford, Conn.) out-reached her opponent to win in 1:54.34.  The freshman Kenna started her career off with a sweep of the 100 back (58.04) and the 200 back (2:05.84), but the Pirates were able to claim the rest of the events and the meet despite a strong showing of seconds and thirds for the Tribe.

William & Mary hits the road next weekend for four more meets over the course of two days.  On Friday afternoon, the Tribe heads to Annapolis, Md. for a 4 PM quad meet against Navy, Johns Hopkins, and CAA-rival Towson.  The next day, Saturday, Oct. 20, W&M will face off in Baltimore with UMBC at 1 PM.

East Carolina 136, William & Mary 126
Event Winners
200 medley relay - W&M, 1:44.82 (Anna Kenna, Lauren Freeman, Katie Sell, Annie Miller)
1000 free - Marina Vignoli (ECU) 10:09.99
200 free - Tara Tiernan (W&M) 1:54.34
100 back - Anna Kenna (W&M) 58.04
100 breast - Lily West (ECU) 1:05.59
200 fly - Shannon Stoff (ECU) 2:02.63
50 free - Catherine Johnson (ECU) 23.78
100 free - Catherine Johnson (ECU) 52.10
200 back - Anna Kenna (W&M) 2:05.84
200 breast - Lily West (ECU) 2:20.59
500 free - Marina Vignoli (ECU) 5:03.17
100 fly - Shannon Stott (ECU) 56.50
200 IM - Lise-Lotte Bentin (ECU) 2:09.08
400 free relay - ECU, 3:29.14 (Catherine Johnson, Mariana Vignoli, Emily Schoonhagen, Stef Scherwitzel)