The William & Mary women's swimming team kept chipping away over the course of the final session of the TYR Invitational on Sunday, cutting into the lead Michigan State held event by event before blowing by the Spartans in the 200 fly and 400 free relay to finish the weekend second overall. Host Northwestern won the meet with 1,462.5 points, while the Tribe scored 716.5 points to outlast Michigan State, third with 672 points. Illinois State was fourth with 436 points, while UIC had 299 points for fifth and Saint Louis (285) and Truman State (247) rounded out the meet.
1,650 Free
- The first event of the evening was the 1,650 free, and the Tribe distance group set the tone early with three in the top five. Sophomore
Megan Bull (Hillsborough, N.J.) led the way in 17:02.53 for third overall, just ahead of
Norah Hunt (Stuarts Draft, Va.), fourth in 17:06.63, and senior
Morgan Smith (Verona, N.J.), who was fifth in 17:10.34.
- Junior
Julia Bland (Sea Girt, N.J.) added seven more points to the team tally, finishing 10th overall in 17:26.42.
50 Fly
- In the 50 fly, senior
Katie Sell (Fredericksburg, Va.) finished fourth overall, matching her prelim time of 25.35 with another in the evening.
- Freshman
Missy Cundiff (Leesburg, Va.) was right behind her in 25.50 seconds, good for fifth place.
200 Back
- W&M's third fifth-place showing in as many events came in the 200 back, where sophomore
Tara Tiernan (West Hartford, Conn.) stopped the clock in 2:01.51.
- Freshman
Anna Kenna (Chantilly, Va.) swam a personal-best 2:02.65 to win the consolation finals and place ninth overall, just ahead of classmate
Ellie Henry (Southern Pines, N.C.), who was 10th in her own best of 2:02.94. Kenna moved all the way up to 12th in school history in the 200 back, while Henry now ranks 15th all-time among Tribe athletes.
- Freshman
Sonora Baker (Mechanicsville, Va.) added two more points, finishing 15th overall in 2:04.89.
100 Free
- Senior
Annie Miller (Houston, Texas) posted a big drop in time from the morning session, swimming 51.39 seconds in the 100 free to move up from eighth to fourth.
- Freshmen
Inez Olszewski (New York, N.Y.) and Cundiff where moved up to the consolation finals due to scratches, and took full advantage of the opportunity. Olszewski dipped under the 52-second barrier to take 10th overall in 51.96 seconds, and Cundiff also improved, down to 52.71 seconds, and finished 13th overall for four more points.
200 Breast
- In the 200 breast, senior
Claire Williams (Apex, N.C.) finished sixth overall in 2:18.96, while Bull made the turnaround from the mile to finish eighth in 2:23.16.
- In the consolation finals, sophomore
Diana Tramontano (Greenwich, Conn.) swam a best-time for the second time in the day, and finished 13th overall in 2:19.55. That improved her up to 16th all-time at W&M in the 200 breast.
- Junior
Lauren Freeman (Fairfax Station, Va.) finished right behind Tramontano in 14th overall, stopping the clock in 2:21.45.
200 Fly
- Entering the 200 fly, W&M trailed Michigan State by 1.5 points, 620-618.5. Senior
Maria Oceguera (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and her teammates blew that deficit out of the water, out-scoring the Spartans by 44 points to lock up the second-place team finish.
- Oceguera led the way with the victory in 2:00.49, the eighth-fastest time in school history, and freshman
Gabby Zhang (Ashburn, Va.) joined her on the podium in third place with a best-ever 2:02.39, improving all the way up to sixth all-time among Tribe athletes.
- Freshman
Rebecca Rogers (Richmond, Va.) also swam a best-time, finishing sixth in 2:04.79, and improved to 14th all-time at W&M. Junior
Yuka Kuwahara (Ashburn, Va.) finished close behind her in 2:05.75, taking seventh overall.
- In the consolation finals, sophomore
Madeline High (Raleigh, N.C.) scored three points with her 14th-place time of 2:05.60, and in the bonus heat, junior
Margaret Williams (Williamsburg, Va.) took 18th overall, touching the wall in 2:06.48.
400 Free Relay
- W&M put an exclamation point on the week in the 400 free relay, with all three teams finishing in the top eight overall.
- The leading team finished third overall in 3:25.51. Olszewski led things off with another personal-best of 51.65 seconds, before giving way to Miller, Tiernan, and Sell in turn.
- The team of Kenna (53.1 lead-off), Cundiff, Bull, and Oceguera took seventh in 3:29.94, and eighth-place went to
Margaret Williams (52.80),
Emily Schroeder (West Windsor, N.J.),
Emma Herold (Kohler, Wisc.), and Henry, who combined to swim 3:31.79.
With the fall season now complete, William & Mary will take the next few weeks off for semester exams and the winter holidays. Following the team's annual training trip over the winter break, the next meet on the schedule comes on Saturday, January 12, with a tri-meet against Duke and Division II powerhouse Queen's (N.C.) in Durham, N.C.
2018 Northwestern TYR Invitational
Women's Final Standings
1. Northwestern 1462.5
2. William & Mary 716.5
3. Michigan State 672
4. Illinois State 436
5. Illinois-Chicago 299
6. Saint Louis 285
7. Truman State 247
