The William & Mary women's swimming team got off to a strong start Thursday morning at the West Virginia Invitational, earning a pair of top-seeds and advancing 27 total swimmers to the finals.  After the swimming prelims in three events, the Tribe leads the projected team standings with 235 points, with Villanova second at 214 points and West Virginia third with 168 points.

Live Results

500 Free
Junior Megan Bull (Hillsborough, N.J.) got the morning off to a strong start in the 500 free, earning the top seed in 4:55.33.  Freshman Grace Tramack (Palo Alto, Calif.) was right behind her in 4:56.40 for second, ranking 14th in school history, and another rookie, Elizabeth Intihar (Columbus, Ohio), swam 4:59.71 for sixth.  Junior Tara Tiernan (West Hartford, Conn.) made it four for the Tribe in the championship heat, taking seventh in 5:00.13.

Sophomore Inez Olszewski (New York, N.Y.) earned the first of two qualifying marks for herself with a 15th-place showing in 5:03.20, making the consolation finals.  Senior Norah Hunt (Stuarts Draft, Va.) made the bonus finals in 19th at 5:05.08, and will be joined in that section by freshman Kim Jogis (Larchmont, N.Y.) and senior Yuka Kuwahara (Ashburn, Va.), who swam 5:06.96 and 5:07.06, respectively, for 23rd and 24th in prelims.

200 IM
In the 200 IM, W&M put on an impressive show of depth, advancing five women to the consolation finals.  Freshman Maura Graff (Henrico, Va.) led the way in a lifetime-best 2:06.85 for 10th place, just ahead of classmate Brooke Lamoureux (Virginia Beach, Va.) who swam 2:06.89 for 11th.  Another rookie, Peyton Proffitt (Richmond, Va.) was 13th in 2:07.51, just out-touching senior Julia Bland (Sea Girt, N.J.) who hit the wall in 2:07.55.  Sophomore Ellie Henry (Southern Pines, N.C.) rounded out the quintet in 16th placing, touching the wall in a time of 2:08.37.

Freshman Annie Tuttle (Alexandria, Va.) swam a lifetime-best by nearly a second-and-a-half, swimming 2:08.61 for 18th place and a spot in the C finals, and the Tribe also had three more women qualify for the D finals.  Sophomore Gabby Zhang (Ashburn, Va.) was 27th overall in 2:10.27, wit junior Madeline High (Raleigh, N.C.) right behind her in 2:10.66 and Diana Tramontano (Greenwich, Conn.) 29th in 2:10.80.

50 Free
The 50 free saw sophomore Missy Cundiff (Leesburg, Va.) continue her undefeated start to the season by earning tonight's top seed, swimming a season-best 23.05.  She'll be joined in the championship heat by her classmate Anna Kenna (Chantilly, Va.), who swam a lifetime-best 23.59 for seventh overall.  Kenna now ranks 16th all-time in school history after improving her best by a quarter-second.

Olszewski swam a lifetime-best of her own to earn her second finals spot of the day, placing 11th in 23.88.  She'll be joined in the B finals by two teammates, senior Margaret Williams (Williamsburg, Va.) who was 15th in 24.20, and by sophomore Sonora Baker (Mechanicsville, Va.), just a fingernail behind in 24.21.  Two freshmen both made the D finals, with Lamoureux making her second final in 24.34 seconds for 25th place, and Katie Stevenson (Wilton, Conn.) placing 29th overall in 24.43 seconds.

Finals in all three events, as well as platform diving, the 200 free relay, and the 400 medley relay, begin tonight at 6 p.m.

2019 West Virginia Invitational
Unofficial Projected Standings
1. William & Mary 235
2. Villanova 214
3. West Virginia 168
4. Kenyon 103
5. Old Dominion 72
6. Carnegie Mellon 24