The William & Mary men's and women's swimming team bring the regular season to a close this weekend, hosting VMI for Senior Day. The meet begins at 12 p.m. on Saturday, January 26, in the Rec Center Pool following a brief ceremony honoring the 14 members of the Class of 2019. Fans can follow the action via live results at TribeAthletics.com and on the Meet Mobile app.
Scouting the Seniors
The 14 members of the Tribe's senior class have combined to lead the team to five Colonial Athletic Association Championships, as well as accounted for 21 event championships. Over their four years, W&M has gone 57-30 (.655) overall, 19-7 (.731) in the CAA, and 14-2 (.875) at home.
Scouting the Tribe Women
W&M's women's team got back in the win column last weekend, downing Davidson on the road 181-81 to improve to 4-7 overall. Both senior
Maria Oceguera (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and freshman
Ellie Henry (Southern Pines, N.C.) won a pair of individual races, Oceguera taking the 200 free and the 100 fly, and Henry sweeping the backstroke events. Sophomore
Megan Bull (Hillsborough, N.J.) continues to lead the team in scoring (271.75) and wins (13), while Oceguera has moved into second in wins with nine. Henry and
Anna Kenna (Chantilly, Va.) lead the rookies with seven wins apiece.
Scouting the Tribe Men
The W&M men also defeated Davidson on the road last week, 187-83, improving to 6-4 overall and guaranteeing a winning season for a program-record eighth-straight year. Junior
Chris Balbo (Short Hills, N.J.) won all three of his events against the Wildcats to earn CAA Swimmer of the Week honors for the second time this season, and improved his team-best total to 20 victories on the year. Balbo also leads in points with 264.5, while his classmate
Colin Wright (Williamsburg, Va.) is close behind with 257.5 points and 14 wins. Fellow junior
Ian Thompson (Alexandria, Va.) improved to 10 wins on the season after taking both the 100 back and the 100 free.
Scouting the Keydets
VMI competed last weekend in a quad meet at Old Dominion, with the Keydet men splitting two meets to improve to 6-5 on the year, while the women fell to all three opponents to move to 1-12 overall. For the men, freshman distance swimmer Stephen Hopta was named the America East Swimmer of the Week after breaking the school record in the 200 free and also winning the 200 back. On the women's side, freshman Sophie Svoboda ranks top-20 in the America East in the 100 of every stroke as well as the 200 IM.
The Series
- The W&M men are 26-16 all-time against VMI, in a series that dates back to 1938. After the Tribe won the first meeting, the Keydets took the next 16 straight, before W&M began a winning streak in 1966 that continues to the present. Before the 2016-17 season, the last meeting between the two schools was back in 1988.
- VMI began women's swimming in 2006-07, but this will be just the third meeting with the Tribe, all in the last three seasons. W&M is 2-0 in the series, winning once each so far in Williamsburg and in Lexington.
